


The Unbeknownst Occurrences of the Cul-de-Sac

by WubADubDub



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: !!!!!, F/F, Fluff, Gay Male Character, Gay Sex, I hope, I hope you guys enjoy this????, I mean, I promise, Like, M/M, Multi, Nat belongs to c2ndy2c1d, Rave belongs to eyugho, Smut, So yeah, also, and they're in character, bc i love nazzarie hfhfhfhafhf, but not till later, but soon - Freeform, cute boyfriends and cute girlfriends, enjoy, eventually, i think, i'll have to edit these when they do, it's underage uh, lol, not now - Freeform, read and review!, they haven't even started dating yet, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-19 00:37:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 69,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3589740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WubADubDub/pseuds/WubADubDub
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddward is typically not the type to worry about the events going on around him, but now he has been pulled into a situation he isn't sure how to handle. But, he's smart. So of course he'll find a way out of this. Right? [Rated "M" for homophobia and abuse. Soon there will be lemon/smut, which will probably bring it up to "E". Also on fanfiction (.) net under WubADubDub.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Morning

It was a cold morning in January as Edward (or, Eddward, to release confusion from him and the taller Ed) woke up at 5:25 a.m. sharp. This was, quite honestly, rather late for him to awake. Perhaps he should have woken up earlier? However, it was not like there was much to be done. Maybe he should just check his homework over to be sure everything looks okay and correct. That sounded like a good idea! But of course, a shower was needed first.

He slowly got out of his bed, making it neat. He opened up his top drawer, pulling out a blue sweater vest with a diamond design. Then he proceeded to open the one beneath that, taking a light blue button down from it. Next, of course, was a pair of blue (slightly) skinny jeans. Finally, he got a clean pair of boxers for his shower, and then made his way over to the bathroom across the hall.

Edd opened the door and shut it behind him, smiling at himself in the mirror. He took the time to undress himself as he stepped into the shower. There weren't too many things to do this morning. To be slow was absolutely fine. So, he decided to be extra thorough when he took the shower, being that he could.

When he was dressed and out of the bathroom, it was already 5:40. " _Oh goodness, I just remembered! I have extra help to attend this morning._ _I must make haste. I can't possibly be late with anything this morning. Rush, rush rush._ "

He went back to his room to get on his shoes and socks, along with his watch, grabbing his books as he walked downstairs. As he did so, he was repeating the words "rush rush rush" in his head now as a mantra. He was well aware that he didn't have to rush  _too_ much, but he still wouldn't want to be tardy.

The boy put his on the counter, sitting down and taking a banana from the fruit bowl. He opened up his homework folder, looking through it and taking out his Calculus homework; this was one of the subjects he wasn't always so sure of.

As he carefully looked over his homework, there was a knock on the door.

Double D's face went into one of confusion. " _Who could be here so early?_ " He thought to himself, rising up from the chair and opening the door.

He looked through the peep hole, seeing it was none other than his best friends. With happiness, he opened the door.

"Good morning, Ed! Good morning Eddy! What brings you two here so early?" Although it was something odd, he was certainly not opposed to the idea. Having his two best friends around made him happier instantly.

Eddy pushed passed him, grumbling with grogginess. Ed, however, hugged him tightly.

"Double D!" The tall one exclaimed. "Good morning! Have you buttered your toast today?"

Eddward smiled at his friend, shaking his head. "No, Ed, I have not. I am not having any toast this morning! I have decided on a delicious banana instead. They give me energy to go about the day!" He said gleefully, closing the door behind Ed as he walked in. Then, the smarter of the boys looked to Eddy.

The shorter didn't miss this. He shot him a glare. "What? What are ya staring at, Sockhead?" He spat out rudely.

This wasn't necessarily uncharacteristic of Eddy, but it was more intense than usual It caused worry throughout Edd.

"Eddy, are you okay? You seem to be troubled by something. Did a ruinous event occur?" His friend, in response simply turned away, making a "hmph" sound as he did so. The boy put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Eddy, it is okay to tell me. We are the best of friends, aren't we?" For a moment, he feared that maybe they weren't as close as he thought. Maybe Eddy was going to tell him that he wasn't interested in beings friends. Perhaps they would now have to go along ignoring each other because their friendship would be over. That would be disastrous; Eddy was his best friend! And poor Ed would have to deal with being in the middle. If their friendship was to cease-

"Sockhead! Are ya listening or what?" Double D flushed, having been caught in his thoughts rather than listening to his friend like he said he would. Oh goodness. He pulled his hat over his face in embarrassment.

"I apologize Eddy. I was stuck in a string of worried thoughts. I hope you could forgive me," he said, frowning as he peeked from his hat.

The other simply waved it off, finding it to be no big deal. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I was just saying that I had a bad chat with my parents this morning. My brother is visiting this weekend, and, well, you know how unpleasant that'll be and whatever," he said, making a waving motion with his hand to make a point.

Eddward nodded in acknowledgement. He was well aware of the mistreatment that his friend faced while his sibling was home. This caused him to purse his lips in thought, putting his hat back in its rightful place.

He put his hands on both of Eddy's shoulders. "Eddy, know that I will be here for you. And if you need me to do anything for you, such as speak with your brother as I have before, I certainly will. The last thing I want is for you to be injured; emotionally or physically." His green eyes stared into his friend's brown ones, trying to display that his words were truthful.

In response, the shorter brushed off both of his hands (something Edd was highly accustomed to, and he knew why) and a light pink rose to his cheeks. "Sure. Thanks, Edd," he mumbled.

"Guys! Guys! Look at what I can do!" A giggly voice had said from the living room. The two quickly glanced at each other and went into the room, Eddward shrieking.

"Ed! What are you doing?!" He watched as the taller was currently holding up the couch in the air with both of his hands, spinning around and laughing.

Eddy began laughing too at the sight. At first he tried to hold it back, but it was too much. "Oh, man, Ed! This is, haha, this great!" He slapped his forehead, his laugh roaring through the head. Then, he stopped, gasping. "Wait a minute! This'll be fantastic! Ed! We can make this into a new scam!" He began to rub his hands together as Double D sighed.

"Are we not getting too old for this? We are juniors in high school, Eddy. Can't we grow up?" His friend simply shook his head, grinning like a madman.

"Step right up!" He began, standing in front of the still spinning Ed, his arms out wide, "To see Ed-the-Great spin large and heavy things around! You won't believe what he can do! It's only $1 for fifteen minutes of entertainment!"

The smart rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Eddy, please. This is not reasonable or necessary." The short put his arms down, giving him a looking of confusion.

"What do you mean, Sockhead? You think I need to price higher for longer?" He asked, a smile forming again on his face.

"No, Eddy. That is the exact  _opposite_  of what I mean. Ed, please put my couch down," he said, walking back into the kitchen as he glanced at his wrist to check the time. He gasped. "Oh goodness! It's 6:23 already?!" This was not good! He had to be at extra help by seven!

He looked at his two friends, who had followed him into the kitchen.

"What's up? You need to get there early or somethin'?" The smarter nodded feverously.

"Of course, Eddy! I have to make it to science extra help!" He scarfed down the rest of the banana, shaming himself for doing so being that it wasn't good for him to eat so quickly. He closed his books, getting on his jacket and putting his messenger bag over his shoulder. Double D walked over to the door, opening it for his friends.

They walked out, and Edd followed behind. "We have to be quick!" He exclaimed, walking at a faster pace as his friends lagged behind.

"Relax. We'll get there in time," Eddy said coolly, putting his hands in his pockets as everything he needed was in his bag. Ed trotted behind, grinning as always.

Edd made a noise of worry, but slowed down for his friends. Oh how he hated being tardy. But sadly that was the price of being about twenty-five minutes from the school. Why was it that the Jr. High was merely right around the corner, but the high school was even further? It seemed so tedious!

A sigh passed his lips as he felt a hand on his arm, looking to see his short companion having an inscrutable look on his face. Without speaking, though, he knew that this was an act of care. He smiled in response, putting his hand over his friends.

To this, Eddy grimaced and removed his hand, but then let a tiny smile on his face as he glanced back at Edd.

Like that, they walked to the school, little talk happening for the most part, but still seeming to be full of sound.

* * *

They arrived at the school, waving each other off as they headed in different directions.

Double D quickly made his way over to his locker on the second floor; the same floor his science classroom was on. He put his jacket away, along with books that were not needed until his later periods.

As he walked to his classroom, he spotted his past neighborhood bully speaking with the, only and only, Nazz Van Bartonschmeer. For a split second, he thought he felt eyes on him. But of course not. It was merely his imagination. Why would either of them notice his existence? Just because they were in the same area of the cul-de-sac didn't mean they were buddies.

Why was he even thinking about this? School was certainly more important!

So, he shook off those thoughts and walked into the science classroom, greeting the teacher.

Today was going to be a long day. For some reason, he knew it would. But what that reason was was unbeknownst to him.


	2. A Twist in Events

The extra help class went along smoothly. If he were to be honest, he didn't really need the help; he just kind of went because he was so intrigued by science. He liked the teacher, too.

Edd continued to sit in his seat even after the extra help was over, being that this was also his first period class. The first warning bell rang as he opened up his science binder, hardly listening as his fellow classmates piled in.

He only knew a few of the classmates personally. One of those students was Nazz, a childhood crush of his. She was a pretty girl, if he had to admit it. She was head of the cheerleading team, along with another girl in his class; Sarah Lamkins. While the blonde was sweet, the ginger could be quite stubborn and rude at times. And, not to mention, but he believed that she may still hold the crush she had.

While flipping through his notes, he was tapped on the shoulder by one of said girls. He looked up, only to be greeted with two seemingly sweet smiles, causing a light red upon his cheeks.

"Hey, Double D!" Nazz said, adding a small wave. Sarah continued to smile behind her, no words coming from her mouth.

"Uh, h-hello, Nazz. Hello, Sarah. Is there something that I can assist you with?"

The blonde giggled, shaking her head. "No, dude! I just came over to ask how you were. I saw you this morning while I was talking with Kev. I almost wanted to call you over, to like, you know, see how you've been lately."

This was slightly surprising to Eddward. It wasn't that Nazz was never kind. Oh no, she was everything that had to do with being friendly. However, they rarely talked. Could it be that she wanted something from him?

"Well, heh, I've been well. How have you been, Nazz?"

"Okay. I'm a little nervous, 'cause, you know, there's this competition this Friday. I'm not sure how well our team," she motioned to her and Sarah, "is going to do. We haven't had a lot of time to practice because of the horrible weather." She frowned at that, but continued on. "But we're trying our best, you get me? It's hard, but we're doing it anyways." She smiled at Sarah, and received one back. Then she looked back at Edd.

Eddward did remember that Nazz was always a chatty one. That wasn't a bad thing, though, as Edd wasn't very good with such things as sports talk. He was more about history, math, or science.

"That's very good to hear, Nazz. I'm positive that your team with achieve a high ranking in this competition." To this, a grin came upon the blonde's face.

"Aw, thanks Double D!" She turned to go walk to her seat as the second warning bell rang, but stopped herself. "You should totally come! We'd love to have the support of our friends. And maybe you could bring Ed and Eddy, too!"

Sarah gaped at Nazz with her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "You mean you want my  _brother_ and his  _fathead_ friend to watch us perform? Come on, Nazz! If anything, they'll do something stupid and find a way to mess us up!"

Nazz made a "psh" noise and waved her off. "So, will you ask them?"

Edd almost forgot they had been in a conversation, having been watching the two converse and then being distracted by the blonde's beauty. Even after all these years, she was still pretty. Her short hair had never changed length, and that was-

Wait! He was supposed to answer a question here!

He almost smacked himself to get his own attention before coming to his senses, nodding to her.

"Of course I'll ask them. I'm sure they'd be delighted to know you want them there."

The taller girl smiled. "Great! Talk to you later, Double D!" And with that, they both turned around and went to their seats, chattering until the final bell rang to be in class.

Edd, as he listened to the morning announcements, was still stuck in confusion of why they walked over to him. He felt like maybe it was more than just wondering if they would go to the competition. But, there was no time to focus on such small things. School was always more important than that.

* * *

The school day continued to go along, mainly, calmly. There were hardly any disruptions in his day; nothing to throw him off schedule or cause him to go into a panic attack. Everything was perfect, as it should be.

So when he walked into the cafeteria, he was as tranquil as ever. He sat down at his usual lunch table, waiting for his two best friends to arrive.

As time ticked by, he glanced around the room. Plenty of the faces were familiar to him, but to them he was probably no one. That was actually something relieving to him. Edd was never one to stand out in the crowd for anything other than his high grades, and was perfectly content with that. He certainly wasn't going to draw attention to himself in this new year. No, sir.

When he heard the clanking of metal against wood tables, he jumped. Only a small glance up at the source of the noise showed him it was his dear friend Eddy.

"Good afternoon, Eddy. How was your morning?"

"Absolutely terrible," the shorter grumbled. "Shovel-Chin is usually as big of an asshole as he is every day, but today, he did something so dickish. You wanna know what he did, Sockhead? You wanna know?"

Double D was slightly afraid to ask, but he knew his friend had to unleash his anger somehow.

"What did he do, Eddy?"

"That piece of shit called me a wimp! Said I was a weakling and would never be strong enough by my own. That I'm some sort of burden or whatever-the-fuck to you!" He crossed his arms and sat, having stood up and leaned over the table in the midst of his anger. "I mean, why the hell does he even give a shit about you?"

Edd felt a slight pang in his chest, having been hurt by the comment. However, he realized that that feeling was unimportant and meaningless. Right now, he had to care for his friend.

"I am unsure. Perhaps he was merely trying to get under your skin? Don't fret, Eddy. You know he doesn't know much about you. You're very strong, if I do say that myself," he said, putting a hand on his friend's crossed arms.

Eddy looked up at Edd, his face still sour.

"Whatever, Sockhead." While the words were meant to be harsh, they came off with a softer tone, as he couldn't truly be mean to Eddward whilst the boy was comforting him.

As Double D smiled at him, Ed himself joined the table, his low chuckling accompanying him.

"Hi guys! You won't believe what Mr. Alderdo said to the class today!" He said, munching on his food and talking through it.

Edd had a small chagrined smile on his face. "Ed, manners, please. Do tell us what happened after you've finished swallowing your food."

However, the words seemed to have went right over the taller's head as he continued to speak. "He said that the class was just as stupid as a group of newborn chicks! And that we would never succeed in anything," he said, a laugh at the end. The words didn't appear to bother him, but rather excite him. "Newborn chicks, guys! They're so cute! How could any of us be so bad when we're compared to that, right?" He questioned, taking more bites of his food.

Double D smiled at his friend's misunderstanding, deciding to not clue him in as to avoid any conflict (as if there would be one).

"Man, Lumpy, that's some intense stuff," Eddy spat out sarcastically. It was quite obvious that the short one had no interest in the words he had to say as he slowly ate his food.

Then, Edd remembered what he was told first period.

"I almost forgot!" He exclaimed. The two looked at him. "Nazz and Sarah asked us to come to their competition this Friday. I believe they would be quite joyous if we were to show up."

Eddy had smiled at the hearing of Nazz, but then it faltered at Sarah's name. "Ew. Do I  _have_  to go if that spoiled brat will be there?"

"Well, Eddy, it would be polite, being that they each invited us," he said, slightly growing quieter as he finished his sentence. He recalled what Sarah had thought about having the other two Ed's there, but he wasn't going to share that with them. So, instead, he just smiled at his friends.

The ravenette sighed, waving his hand. "Fine, fine. I'll go to that dumb competition. And I'm sure that Blockhead will go, too, since his sister is going to be there and whatever. All that sibling support crap."

"Language, Eddy," he corrected. He would've corrected him earlier, as well, but he was in a fit of rage, and well, that wouldn't have ended decently for either of them.

Eddy merely groaned in response, not paying any mind to the words just said.

Lunch continued with the three of them discussing their day, Ed showing off his food and even playing with it at times, much to Edd's disgust and Eddy's slight irritation but also amusement.

* * *

When the school day finally ended, Edd walked down from the third floor to the second, walking to his locker. On his way, he once again saw Nazz and Kevin discussing, most likely, different things than that morning. As hard as he tried to go unnoticed, he heard the call of his name from the tomboy.

He turned on his heel, walking over to her with a smile on his face.

"Hello, Nazz. Is there something I am able to aid you with?"

Nazz giggled. "Nah, dude! I just wanted to ask you if you told the Ed's about what I said this morning." She tucked a few pieces of hair under her hair, smiling at him.

Edd made an "oh" sound. "Yes, I did. They were each excited to be invited to the event."

The blonde laughed again. "Oh, Edd. You know that this isn't some secret thing! You guys could totally come without us having asked you to!"

Double D nodded, a small patch of red on his cheeks. "O-of course I am aware of that. I suppose it is just that we would have no one to exactly be cheering on if we were not asked to attend. I hope that did not cause any offense to you," he added quickly.

Nazz merely shrugged off what he said. "Not at all, man. I'm just glad to hear that you're coming!"

Just then, Kevin groaned, his head pressing against the locker as he squeezed his eyes shut. The blonde and hat-wearing boy turned their own heads to the ginger.

"Somethin' up, Kev?" The jock opened his eyes and took his head off the locker, shrugging, anger apparent on his face.

"Nat's just being a dumb piece of shit, as usual. Wants me to come early to practice to help him with something. But, knowing him, it's probably as unimportant as what ants do for the world," he said, carelessly waving his hand.

Nazz raised her eyebrows at the comparison. "You should go check just in case, yeah? It'd be a good idea, dude."

Kevin couldn't deny her, so he sighed, nodding as he fixed his backpack's position. "I'll talk to ya later, Nazz," he said, waving to her before walking off in the direction of the gym.

Said girl turned to Edd. "Well, I gotta go get ready for my own cheerleading practice. See you later, Double D!" With that she walked off in the same direction as Kevin; to the gym.

Eddward proceeded to turn back around and walk to his locker, the hallway now emptier than before.

He gathered his things, putting on his jacket and then his messenger bag over his shoulder. Once he had everything he needed, he closed his locker, putting the lock on it and to the school doors to walk home. As he left the school building, Kevin's words were on his mind.

_"What could he have against ants?"_

* * *

Edd unlocked the door to his house, walking in and shutting it behind him. His cheeks were a bright shade of red from having been out in the cold so long.

The weather was absolutely horrific; it had reached below 10° Celsius and was almost freezing. Oh how he hated the winter.

He set his books down on the table, opening them and getting ready to do his homework. First, he grabbed an apple to munch on before he had to begin making dinner. So, he took one from the fruit bowl, biting into it with bliss.

The boy took out homework and a pencil and began to do his work.

He was about halfway through all of it before a text caught his attention. He grabbed his phone, looking at who the possible messenger could have been. Although, he should've already known it would be his dear friend Eddy.

**hey sockhead. where were you after school today?**

Edd quickly typed back a response.

**Nazz had called me over to check on my questioning of your presence at the competition this Friday.**

A buzz quickly came again.

**oh. okay. i was thinking about the scam. we should definitely do something about it this weekend. what do you think?**

Eddward sighed at the mentioning of the scam. How stubborn Eddy was to insist on continuing this tomfoolery. This should have ended years ago.

**Oh, Eddy. Can't we just drop the whole "scam" thing? We are getting older and older, yet you still prod at doing these childish things. Scamming people isn't exactly an adult thing for us to do. Besides, aren't you tired of it? Wouldn't you want to make something more of your life and your time? You could be doing much better things!**

**ugh. come on sockhead. here i was thinkin youd support me about this kind of stuff. whatever. we should still hang out this weekend.**

**I suppose that sounds enjoyable. So, sure, Eddy. I will take your offer of hanging out this weekend. I assume that our dear friend Ed will be joining us in our fun festivities?**

**we dont exactly have a choice but to invite him. if im being honest nothing is the same if lumpy aint with us.**

Eddward smiled at the admittance of Eddy's feeling towards their lovable lump. While he wasn't the brightest lightbulb of them all, he was still a sweet boy with a good heart. Most of time, that was.

**I'm glad you think that way, Eddy. If you excuse me, I have duties to attend to. I will be sure to message you when I have finished up, though! Make sure to do your homework and eat something healthy!**

He heard the vibration in response to his recent text message, but he couldn't focus on that currently. Right now it was all about homework and that was it. As much as he enjoyed conversing with Eddy, school was always first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helllllooo! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I would appreciate your thoughts on the story so far! Thank you for reading. Please fill me in on any spelling mistakes!


	3. The Competition

Friday came by quicker than Edd had hoped or anticipated for. The school day itself was quite fast itself, despite any of the boy's prayers for it to go slowly. However, he didn't exactly expect them to; he was an Atheist.

As he walked over to his locker after his final period, his two friends were already there. He smiled at them as he got closer.

"Greetings! How were your days?" Edd asked, unlocking the lock to his locker and opening it. He gathered the books left in his locker and put them into his messenger bag. Any unable to fit he carried in his arms.

Eddy shrugged. "No different than usual. Boxhead is still an ass, in case you didn't know that. But I'm sure you do." As he said his last sentence, he glanced at the smarter boy in expectations of hearing him agree. However, Edd wasn't sure what to say and fell silent for a couple of seconds after, causing the shorter to roll his eyes. "Do we really have to go to this competition? He's going to be there. And he's irritating."

Eddward closed his locker and put the lock back on, turning to his friend. "It would be impolite if we did not attend. Plus, it is only until five, which is not too long. Do you think you are able to tolerate only a couple of hours?"

The ravenette waved the concern his friend showed off. "Yeah, sure. I just don't want to be anywhere near Bazooka-Chin."

Double D allowed a small smile to form on his face. Eddy sure did have plenty of nicknames for their childhood bully. Or, current bully? He was unsure what to title Kevin. Perhaps just saying that he was a jock was enough. Edd knew better than to put such negative connotations on people.

Like that, the three walked to the gym, having arrived about twenty-five minutes early of the competition. Then, a hand quickly went around both of Edd's shoulders, causing him to shriek.

He turned to see who it is, not surprised to see a giggling girl with short, blue hair. The appearance of his friend caused him to flush red. How could he be so wimpy over something like this? He shook his head, mumbling "silly, silly, silly" over and over again.

Said girl tapped him on the head. "Ay, cutie, this isn't a time to be bugging out over dumb things," she teased.

Edd snapped out of his self-deprecating (minus the humor part of it) trance. He looked up to his friend, pursing his lips.

"I apologize, Marie. Might I ask what brings you here?"

Marie laughed. "You should know why I'm here, Edd. There's a specific person I've come to cheer on during this little competition," she said, her lips puckered as she swayed back and forth from her toes to her heels.

Eddward said "ah" silently in remembrance of her confession to him. His female friend had what would she liked to call a "small crush" on a specific blonde. Although, Edd knew that the crush was much larger than small. The two had spent nights talking about her, each having a liking for her, and typically agreeing on what they enjoyed about her.

However, that was months ago, and he had only found out about her crush in the beginning of the school year. Edd was honestly surprised that the feelings he held onto for so long had gone away with ease. Part of him figured it was that Marie was more deserving of her. She always went out of her way to do nice things for Nazz, and was certainly more flamboyant and talkative than Edd could ever dream to be.

It was also since he figured out that he may or may not be attracted to the same sex. While he still found females to be pretty, it was certainly not as much as before. In fact, he had noticed himself eyeing more boys lately than girls. And, if he wasn't careful, that would get him into a lot of trouble.

"Hey! Edd! Are you listening to me?"

"He doesn't have to listen to you, ya smurf."

"Haha! You called her a smurf." A pause. "She isn't all blue though, Eddy."

"Excuse me?! You wanna repeat that again, ya twerp?"

Edd shook his head in order to get back in touch with the real world. He noticed his two friends arguing. This had been, most likely, the fifth time he spaced out during conversations this week! Why had been getting so lost in his thoughts lately.

He was doing it again. No, he must stop. He has to try and reconcile the situation at hand.

So, he did what he did best and stepped between them, placing a hand on one of their shoulders.

"Now, now Eddy," he said, looking to the shorter, "Marie," he glanced to the bluenette. "There is no reason to start a fight here. Or now, specifically. It would be highly rude to our friend, Nazz. She doesn't need to hear about us fighting and be discouraged about her competition. Do you not agree?"

He earned a small grumble from Marie, but Eddy didn't really tune in.

"She started it by waltzing up to you and acting like she's your new best friend! Come on, Sockhead. How could you let her socialize with you?" Eddy practically shouted, his face full of distaste towards the female.

Edd sighed. "Eddy, you have been aware of my social relation with Marie for months now. You know that we talk quite often, and I see no harm in us spending time here, being that we rarely make plans for outside of school. Please respect her presence."

The short boy sneered, crossing his arms. "Whatever. But I want to be far away from her."

"I have no problem with that," Marie said, putting her hands on her hips.

Once the agreement was made, they all made their way to the bleachers to find a seat for the cheerleading match. It was only about thirteen minutes prior now.

Most of the spots on the bleachers slowly began to fill up as friends, family, and others began to sit down to watch the competition. At first Edd had been slightly confused when he saw someone he didn't know, but then remembered that the other competitors' own friends and family was here to watch them perform. How churlish of him to be so inconsiderate.

As he watched people get to open areas, he spotted a specific ginger with a teal-haired boy next to him. He wasn't quite sure who the boy next to Kevin was, despite it being halfway through the year. Perhaps a transfer student? No, he looked too comfortable to be a transfer.

He rubbed his eyes to regain focus of what was going on around him rather than his tiny thoughts. He was sure he'd find out the identity of the boy soon.

When the clock stuck three, the Peach Creek High School principal came through the doors with the Peach Creek cheerleaders flipping and spinning behind him through the doors he walked through. On the other set, the opponent teams were doing the same.

"Hello Peach Creek, Splendora High, Daunty High, Celine Creek, and Marne High! Thank you all for coming today to witness the competition between our two fellow high schools! I would like to first introduce our judges! We have Mrs. Vernan; the owner of Ella's Dance Academy! Next, we have Mrs. Junipe; the extracurricular executive of our county! And last is Mr. Peterson; a teacher for Lanella's Dance Academy, who specializes in the same techniques that cheerleaders do!"

The principal took a breath, allowing the students, friends, and families to clap for the three judges. Then, he began to speak again. "And now, I will introduce the team captains and co-captains!

"On the Peach Creek side we have Nazz Van Bartonschmeer as captain in her junior year, along with Sarah Lamkins as co-captain in her sophomore year!" He exclaimed, motioning to the two girls, who smiled sweetly as the crowd clapped.

"For Splendora High, their captain is Rebecca Heights, who works with their co-captain Jennifer Schmook!"

More clapping ensued when his hand went to the other girls, who waved to the crowd.

The principal continued to introduce the other three captains and co-captains, each time the noise getting louder for the different teams.

After the noise had died down, the principal said, "Without any further ado, let us begin the competition!"

The people on the bleachers roared with excitement, everyone clapping for the numerous amount of girls.

"This is going to be quite the competition, don't you think, Marie?" Edd asked, turning to the blue haired female. She turned back to him in slight surprise, most likely having been lost from looking at the blonde captain.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, definitely. They always get really intense. And, I mean, like, I would know, 'cause.. I go to almost every one," she mumbled, her eyes turning away in embarrassment.

Eddward chuckled. "There is nothing to be ashamed of. You know I have no grudges against your liking of," he glanced around to see if anyone was tuning in on their conversation before whispering, "Nazz."

Marie shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But it isn't exactly something other people would be comfortable with. She's a prep, and I'm this punky outcast. We aren't meant to socialize."

"But you do, don't you? I know you converse with her," he said, a slight smug smile on his face.

The bluenette waved his teasing off with her hand, turning her head away only a little. "Yeah, yeah. We should watch the competition. It's rude to be talking while it's going on," she said in a tiny sing-song voice.

The smart boy blushed a bit. "Yes, yes, of course. Let us proceed to spectate our friend's team and wish them they best in winning," he said, turning his head to focus on the two groups of girls, keeping a keen eye on the event.

* * *

When the competition had ended (about two and half hours or so later as the five groups did two different dances for their routine), the judges spent about another fifteen minutes to tally up the score and find out the winner of the five groups. It had been intense, that was for sure. Numerous backflips and front flips; pyramids and splits, the whole nine yards of it all.

Edd suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Eddy looking at him.

"Hey, Sockhead. What time is it? I thought you said this thing ended around five."

Double D sighed, looking at his friend in a slightly disappointed way. "Oh, Eddy, that is merely what I presumed." He checked his watch. "It is 5:45. We will be leaving shortly, I'm sure. Most likely six o'clock rather than five. My apologies for the confusion, but this is my first time going to one of these."

The shorter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Whatever, Sockhead. I just want to get out of here as quickly as possible. All these people are makin' me sick as hell."

"Language, Eddy," he said silently, turning his head back to the floor after his friend scoffed.

Seconds later, the principal was in the middle of the floor, the mic in his hand again. "And now, we have found out the winners for the competition!" He shouted, holding up three cards in his hands.

"In third place is Marne High! Congratulations, girls!"

The group ran up to collect their trophy, numerous pictures being taken of them as they stood still and smiled. Then, they ran off to the side, allowing the principal to continue as he put the top card in the back to read the next one.

"In second place is Daunty High!"

Another pack of girls ran to obtain their trophy as more cameras snapped in the midst of it all.

Then, an intense silence went over the crowd as the principal was about to call for the first place winner.

"And finally, we have the first place winner."

He made sure that he had everyone's attention before looking at the card, grinning and yelling "The first place trophy goes to Peach Creek High School!"

Screams and shouts of joy filled the large space from excitement of the winner being called. Some people were heard groaning, but Marie, Edd, Eddy, and Ed had all stood up and were saying "yeah!" and "woohoo!" with joy filling their voices. Marie and Edd hugged each other, the bluenette grinning from ear to ear at finding out Nazz's team had won.

They waited for the other schools' members to pile out of the gym before going down the bleachers, running over to Nazz's group with happiness.

The blonde quickly turned over to them when she heard their footsteps.

"Guys!" She said, her voice practically squealed with delight as she ran up to them and hugged each of them, clapping her hands together as she pulled away. "Can you believe it?! Can you believe we won first place?!" She was beaming, her eyes going from each person.

They all nodded.

"Yeah! Congrats!" Marie said, giving her another hug. For a second, they looked at each other as if having some sort of nonverbal communication, each glancing away after.

"Congratulations, Nazz! You are as lucky as Frederick when he escaped from the alien monster with his three heads and nine eyes," Ed said, grinning like a goof.

The blonde simply giggled, smiling at the ginger.

"Thanks, dude. It means a lot to hear that. I think."

Edd then took his turn to speak, opening his mouth to say "Yes, congratulations on your achievement, Nazz. I am glad for you! Your victory is something that will go down in our school's history, I'm sure."

Nazz grinned. "Thanks, Double D! I just, wow, I can't believe we won! I thought that since the weather had been so bad and our practicing wasn't as often as it should be we would've been horrible! But I guess the other teams had it worse, you know? They probably practiced even  _less_  than we did. Which is, like, totally fantastic! 'Cause we won!" She pumped her fist in the air, making a "woo" sound.

They all smiled at her. Eddy finally decided to say something as well, being that everyone else had now.

"It's great, Nazz. Like, you winning, I mean," he said silently, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

The cheer captain pulled the short boy into another hug. "Thanks, Eddy! It means so much knowing you guys came here to support me. I mean it." She looked at them sincerely, her joy shown all on her face. Then, for a moment, she had a pondering look on her face before grinning. "You guys should totally come to eat dinner with Kev, Nat, and I! We're going out to celebrate! We asked Sarah to come, too, but she denied us to have a separate dinner with Jimmy. So, what do you guys think?"

Eddy, although before he had wanted to leave immediately, was the first person to voice his opinion.

"That sounds a great idea! I'm in." Although, he realized his answer seconds after he said it, forgetting the certain jock that would be there. He inwardly cursed, but his expression changed when Nazz's expression filled with happiness.

The other three nodded in agreement, Edd looking to see Ed appearing to be looking off into space and Marie was just as excited as the blonde.

It was a sweet moment, honestly.

He was about say something, but then coughed, turning away.

Nazz and Marie each quickly put one of their hands on him.

"You okay, dude?"

"Yeah, what's wrong, Double D?"

Eddward merely shook his head "It is nothing to fret about," he said, another cough escaping his mouth. "I believe my throat is dry. If you excuse me, I am just going to get a drink of water."

The two girls nodded, obviously not being in any way opposed to the idea. They stepped to the side, allowing Edd to walk by them to go out the doors and to the water fountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up that I am using a character of C2ndy2c1d's (Nathan Kedd Goldberg) most likely starting next chapter, but there is a mention of him in this chapter. I also realize (after reading over my work) that I mentioned him last chapter. I do not claim to own any rights to this character (or EENE in general), and all rights go to their specific owner.
> 
> Hey there, readers! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I tried to make it a bit longer with some more interacting and some excitement of some sort.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I thank you for reading the chapter. Please fill me in on any spelling mistakes.


	4. The Teal-Haired Boy

Eddward made his way out of the gym and into the hallway, turning on a corner and walking further down another hall until reaching a water fountain. He coughed once more before leaning down and pressing the button to take a nice, long sip of the cold water.

Why had his throat gotten so dry just now? It didn't feel gradual, either. The feeling was out of nowhere, and it slightly surprised him.

As he continued to sip water, a small tap on his shoulder caught his attention. He swallowed the water in his mouth and pulled away, looking to see who it was. Edd lightly rubbed off the water around his mouth with a handkerchief as he noticed it was the teal haired boy he saw on the other side of the gym earlier.

"Hey there, sweetcheeks. You were there for quite some time, and I just need some water, so I hope you don't mind me taking a sip." The boy's mouth was turned up and wide on his face. And upon realizing the nickname, Edd blushed.

"U-um. Please, go ahead," he mumbled, stepping away to let him take a sip.

After he did, the boy pointed to himself, grinning. "The name's Nathan Goldberg. Nat, for short. You go to school here?" He quirked an eyebrow, curiosity obvious in his whole expression.

Eddward nodded, pursing his lips as he glanced away. Well, now he knew the identity of the teal-haired boy. In fact, that name actually sounded familiar. Was it on during announcements? They usually like to congratulate the team players of sports that did the best after games when they win. Was he perhaps on the football team or another? The boy was unsure.

When he looked back Nathan, his face was still holding that smile. This was, in a way, on numerous levels of uncomfortable for Edd. Oh dear.

"M-my name is Eddward Vincent," he said silently. He watched as the shorter's eyes widened slightly, perhaps upon noticing something? He didn't know.

"Wait a second," he said slowly, chuckling. "Eddward? Do people call you Double D or something?"

This question caused Edd to cock his head to the side ever so slightly. How had he known that was his nickname? Had he heard someone say it to him in the hallway as he passed by? Did someone talk about him? These questions ran through his head as he took a tiny step back, nodding as an answer.

This caused Nat to slap his knee and roar with laughter. "Oh man! You're kiddin' me! You're," he sputtered, "You, hah, haha, what! I can't believe this," he said through laughter. The teen was now bent over, hugging his stomach to try and calm himself.

Edd felt very embarrassed with the sudden laughter. Someone had probably said something bad about him. Some sort of joke that everyone knew but him. It wasn't  _that_ new, but it had been awhile since anyone teased him or insulted him in a negative way.

Having felt done with it all, Eddward began to walk back to the gym. He didn't need this; someone laughing at him. He was happy with who he was and whatever anyone else thought was irrelevant right now.

On the other hand, after he finally seemed to be done laughing, Nathan noticed the boy to be leaving, causing him to chase after him. "Hey, hey! Hold it, Double Delectable," he said, stopping the boy by placing a hand on his shoulder and turning him around with gentle force. "I didn't mean that in a rude way, I swear. I've just heard some things about you, is all. Nothing bad, I promise."

Edd very much flushed at the nickname, not looking at the other boy even as he continued to speak. He knew this was rude, but, he was somewhat upset and thus found it justified, to be honest.

"Let's start over, right? It's nice to finally meet you," the boy continued with a smile, taking the hand off his shoulder to instead hold it out for a handshake.

The taller boy looked at the other for a few seconds, glancing from his hand to his face before slowly taking it. "I suppose it is," he paused in thought before continuing, "finally nice to meet you, too. Although, I have never heard of you before. At least, not from a person. Are you perhaps on a school team? I do believe I've heard your name spoken over the loudspeaker several times for your athletic skills."

All of the words said by Edd caused Nathan to begin grinning wider.

"Yeah, actually. I'm on our football team. And I'll be on our baseball team, too. I'm amazing, I know," he said, posing as if the hat-wearing boy was about to snap a picture of him.

This caused Eddward to laugh, his shoulders relaxing. Maybe Nathan wasn't too bad of a person. He did seem to have a good heart, and that was something nice and enjoyable.

The teal-haired teen got out of his pose and instead put his arm around the other, turning him around and now continuing their journey back into the gym. "And, sometimes, you might hear people call me different names besides Nat. Like, 'Asshole,' or 'Hey you,' or, the big one, 'Hey one-kid-with-the-green-hair,' to which I correct them that it is  _teal_  and  _not_  green. I mean, seriously, are they color blind?" He asked aloud, making a motion with his hand for emphasis.

Edd was beginning to enjoy the other's company. He was obviously talkative, but in a good way. He left no empty spaces in conversation, unlike Edd himself.

Wow, he really needed to stop that. Comparing himself to others, that is. Eddward knew he was special; he was incredibly intelligent where most people lacked knowledge. It was, no doubt, that he would get into a top college in America or even abroad, and this was something that was important, being that it would change the rest of his life. He had no reason to-

"Hey, Double Delicious, are you listening?" Nathan had been poking at Edd's shoulder for several seconds, his smile still present and his eyebrows raised.

Double D blushed. "Y-Yes. I apologize for not paying attention. I tend to get lost in my own thoughts over the silliest or abhorred things. It's been happening quite a lot lately, too," he spoke, although quietly, as he looked at the group still bunched around the cheerleaders.

They did not go unnoticed, though, as Marie had seen them come in and was now pushing Nathan away from Edd.

"Hey, asshole, stay away from Edd. He doesn't need to get involved with any of the shit you pull, alright?" She said, anger filling her voice. Then, she turned to Edd, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Edd, you okay? He didn't do anything to you, right? That piece of shit is known for his trashy lifestyle."

Nathan simply laughed at the insult. "I told ya asshole was one of my nicknames," he said, grinning. Eddward may have let a small smile on his face for a second, but stopped when Marie moved away from him and advanced on the other boy.

"Listen, you don't need to talk to Edd. I know what's going on. And I don't like it one bit. This prank of yours isn't cute, and he doesn't deserve to get hurt over some stupid shit some jocks wanna pull to have some fun. So cut the crap, okay?" Her voice was too quiet for Edd to hear, so he didn't understand what she said, but he had no doubt that it was most likely spoken with venom.

The teal-haired boy shook his head, putting his hands on his pockets. "This isn't a prank, Marie. I don't know who or where you heard that from, but everything that's going on right now is genuine. I doubt that even half of the jocks know Double Delightful," he moved into Edd's sight to give him a wink before moving back, "exists. Besides, I'm just a wingman, anyway.  _I_  don't intend on causing him any harm," he said, just as softly as she did.

Marie crossed her arms after he winked, slouching. "Fine. But even if you don't want to do anything that would hurt him, that dickface better not, either. Or I'll pound his face in, and I mean it," she said angrily.

Nathan nodded. "Gotcha, gotcha. No need to worry, babe."

The bluenette practically cringed at the nickname. "No. Don't you  _ever_  call me that again. I will cause  _you_  harm if you do," she said, turning away from him just as she noticed Nazz, Eddy, Ed, and now, Kevin walking over. Eddy and Kevin were on completely separate sides, yet they were still glaring at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"Hey! Is everything okay? Marie, you didn't do anything to Nat, did you?" Nazz asked out of complete concern, walking up to the other female.

Marie shook her head. "No, I didn't. He's fine. You can ask Double D. I didn't do anything to him, right?" She turned to her friend with trust in her eyes. If there was one person she could turn to, it was Edd, and that made her hopeful.

"She did not do anything, Nazz. I believe just a few words of menace were spoken impolitely to Nathan, but there was no painful event that occurred," he said, smiling at the blonde.

This cause the girl to sigh with relief. "Oh thank gosh! The last thing I needed was for my two best friends to start fighting. I care about both of you guys, and honestly I would just hate to see one of you injured because of the other person," she said, glancing at Nathan when she spoke about them both being close to her.

"Don't worry about it, Nazz. We're both okay. And I promise that I would never hurt someone that meant something to you, unless they were a complete shithead and did something mean. Then, I hope you would give me permission to at least punch them in the face," she said with a small laugh, putting a hand on her arm.

Nazz laughed in response, nodding. "Of course, Marie."

Edd was then pulled from the group and to his own friends, smiling at them. "Greetings. How are both of you?""

Eddy grumbled. "Fan-fucking-tastic, Edd. Jug-head was trying to pick a fight with me before. He was getting all tough and shit before Nazz helped to break it up or whatever," he said rolling his eyes.

"Language, Eddy. And I hope the two of you can get along. I do believe the," he glanced around and counted, "seven of us are having dinner together to celebrate." He put his hands together, looking down at his friend with concern on his face.

"Ugh. Yeah, I know, Sockhead. Whatever. I'll deal with it or some shit. So long as he doesn't try any new crap to piss me off," he said through grit teeth.

Eddward sighed. " _Language_ ,  _Eddy_ ," he repeated. "I've told you so many times to not use such foul words in your sentences. You should try ones that aren't as harsh or, as some may believe, repulsive," he muttered. If he had to admit it, he was only a little repulsed by the constant cursing. However, he had been growing out of it, being that him, and another boy he knew, James, used them often.

Eddy merely waved him off again, not really caring, much to Edd's dismay.

* * *

Several feet away, the two jocks had been talking as the other two groups conversed.

"So, heh," Nat began, elbowing Kevin's crossed arms. "Double D, more like Double Dreamy, am I right?" He waggled his eyebrows at the ginger, only to get a palm to his face in response and was pushed away.

"Cram it, Nat. No one needs hear this, alright?" Kevin looked away, once again crossing his arms and trying to not think about that damn dork. He had been plaguing his mind for several days now, and it seemed to not be ending soon. And by the looks of it, now they'd be eating dinner together. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Nathan put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Kev. Your secret is totally safe with me. But I mean, don't get mad at me if I start flirting with him. Double Dynamic has a pretty nice ass. And I'm attracted to it." This earned him a glare from his friend, to which he smirked to. "Also, does he always talk," he paused, trying to find the word, "with big words?"

"I  _will_  get pissed, Nat. Why would you flirt with," his voice went to a whisper as he leaned in, "the guy I like? The hell is your deal, dude? And, yes, he does always talk like that," he muttered. "And it's cute," he added, just as soft.

The other teen shrugged, grinning. "'Cause I can? You aren't dating  _yet_ , plus I doubt he'd feel that way for me. So calm your tits, bro. Everything will be cool," he said smoothly, moving his hand out in a slow wave when he said "cool." Then, he snickered. "Yeah, man, it is pretty cute the way he talks. I'd like to hear that more."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't overdo it, okay? You  _know_  how much this means to me, man. How much  _he_  means to me. And shit, I don't know why he does yet, but he just does. But even until I really find out what the hell is up with me I don't want you getting into any relationship past a friendship, you hear me?" He asked, his eyes narrowed at his friend.

"Yup, yup. I got ya, Captain Kev. You can count on me to keep your secret safe and to avoid any overdose of flirting with Double Desirable over there," he nodded over to the hat-wearing boy when he spoke the nickname, looking to the ginger after. "We should probably get to the diner now, don't you think? I mean, we don't have to, as I could totally be fine ogling the butts here all night, but I think we should celebrate our favorite girl's win, eh?" As he said the last sentence, he had walked over to said girl, putting an arm around her shoulders.

Nazz giggled. "Sorry, I guess we all just got distracted, huh?" She looked at everyone else around here, now that they had stopped their conversations and grouped together.

"It doesn't matter, Nazz. Let's just get to dinner before we get into some other conversation," Kevin said, a hand behind his head and the other making a motion with his hand before matching what the other hand was doing.

Edd took a quick glance at the ginger, then to the floor. Oh my. Being within his former bully's presence for (what he assumed was) a long amount of time was going to be a bit new to him. Perhaps everyone would be able to move on from their childish days, as they never truly had. Especially since Eddy and Kevin did still have arguments.

He noticed the group had begun to exit out of the gym and was walking to the school doors, and he followed behind, standing next to his two best friends. Nazz and Marie, he noticed, continued their conversation, and Kevin and Nathan were behind everyone.

Oh how he hoped this night would end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a friendly reminder that Nathan Kedd Goldberg will be appearing often from these chapters on! I do not claim to own any rights to him and he belongs to C2ndy2c1d!
> 
> Hello! I kind of expected this chapter to be including the dinner, but it appears to me that that will be saved for next chapter! I do expect to have some "juicy" (?) moments involved~ so I hope you all enjoy! Please direct me to any spelling mistakes and, as always, thank you for reading!


	5. Diner at the Diner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is kind of 3rd person omniscient in this story, and I don't exactly feel the need to say "Edd PoV" or "Nat PoV" because it just seems annoying to me. I'll try to make it as obvious as possible whose thoughts are currently being said. Hope you guys don't mind! Most of the time, though, it will usually be Edd or Kevin's PoV. I will feature Nazz/Marie's, possibly Eddy's and a little bit of Nat's. Very little, however.

When the seven of them had reached the diner, Nathan had been the gentleman to quickly run to the door and hold it open for everyone. He winked jokingly at Marie to piss her off (it worked) and then at Edd just for mere fun. In return, the hat-wearing boy turned his head to the side in a small show of shyness.

Oh how could he be more revealing? It was as if he was shouting to the world that he was attracted to males with the way he just blushed! How absurd of him. One thing Edd knew for sure was to hide his sexuality from the people around him. Of course, he had confided in his best friends Marie, Eddy, and Ed, and they all continued to welcome him as their friend with no bickering involved. Although, Ed had showed his acceptance in his weird, but lovable way. He had said something along the lines of "Do not worry, Double D! For Space Ranger Malvin was also with boys sometimes in the way that most boys are with girls! He is still a superhero, and  _you_  can he be, too," with a far off look in his face to complete the statement.

If he was to be honest with himself, Eddward could not have asked for better friends. It was always nice knowing he had people he could go to when times were coming to a difficult state and it had become too much for him to handle just by himself. Even though, Edd was no stranger to loneliness. After all, his parents were non-existent for most of his life, and still were. When a time came where he had no friends to turn to, he always had himself. And that was okay. Yes, perfectly fine.

He had been staring blanking off into space when he felt a hand on his back, bringing them along with him.

His head had turned to see who the person was, and was not surprised to see Marie being the one to guide him to their table. She was always so good to him. If only he could find a way to repay her for the kindness she showed on the daily.

"Hey, Double D, stop spacing out, would you? You're out to dinner with numerous people, meaning that it's time to socialize a little bit. Do you want to sit next to me?" Her voice was quiet and she spoke slowly, as if to help him indulge the words since he was not exactly down on Earth at the current second.

Still, Eddward nodded his head. "Yes, I would like that. Thank you very much, Marie."

They had gotten a corner booth seat, thus making it long enough for all seven of them to fit next to each other and still have space. Nathan was on the end, then Kevin was next to him, then Nazz, then Marie, next to Marie sat Edd with Eddy right by his side, and Ed was on the opposite end of them all.

It was a pleasant seating arrangement for all of them.

For the most part, at least.

* * *

Nathan wasn't completely pleased with his place. If he were to be honest, he'd like to sit closer to Double Damn-He-Looks-Good. It wasn't exactly a real attraction he had to Edd. No, as he didn't real feel that way for many people. Most of the people he would check out and flirt with were ones he was just looking to get with for a night of fun, and then that'd be that. This boy was really no different. Although, he did find him rather cute.

But no, he couldn't. This was the guy his best man Kev was crushin' on! He'd have to stoop real low and be planning some hardcore revenge if he was going to try and get with Edd. It just wasn't cool to do that, and he knew that. And, truthfully, when he pictured his asshole close friend next to that intelligent cutie, well, they looked damn good next to each other.

That was it. He was going to become their number one fan; they were a ship, and he was going to ride that boat till it sank. Which, hopefully, it never would.

Yeah, yeah this sounded good! A little bit of poking at prodding at both of them to maybe admit some feelings about the other and then get them to ask the other out sounded like a good fucking deal, even if it meant losing the Double Dynamite boy.

Whatever, though. He could always hook up with someone else like he always did. Peach Creek was full of nice asses that he was hoping to tap. The thought caused him to grin as he put his hands behind his head.

* * *

Kevin took a glance at his friend, questioning the look on his face. He swore that if this pain in the ass green-haired idiot was thinking about  _his_ Edd then he would-

Wait. Did he just call Edd  _his_? He was losing it. Definitely. Maybe going to the bathroom would help out; washing his face and stuff to get his senses back up and running. Man, he was just losing it over this dweeb, huh? What was so good about him?

The ginger kneed his friend, making a gesture with his hand to move out when Nat snapped from his trance and quirked a brow at him. His friend obliged, getting up and bowing as Kevin made his way to the bathroom.

When he walked in, it was empty. That was a relief. If he looked weak at any time it would be bad for his reputation since a couple of guys he knew were here to celebrate the win as well. They'd start asking him questions and shit, and he had no time for that, especially when he had no idea what he was thinking in the first place.

He went over to the sink, turning the cold water on, waiting for it to get to an almost freezing temperature before splashing some in his face. It was a dumb idea, though, because he got part of his hat wet and the top of his jacket. That obviously wouldn't look nice if he went outside that way.

Thank God this place had hand dryers instead of some crap paper towels. He took off his hat and let it dry under the hot air. Well, at least he was more awake or whatever now.

He rubbed his hand from the bottom of his face to the back of his head, shaking it. That stupid dork. Ugh, why did he end up falling for him? What caused this crush he had? Maybe it was that cute gap between his teeth when he smiled that he wanted to run his tongue between during a make out sess-

" _Jesus, fuck, Kev! Get a hold of yourself, man! The hell is wrong with you? Letting that dork from your childhood mess up your life like this. What's up with me?_ "

The ginger put his hat back on and unzipped his jacket, taking it off and drying the wet spots.

Just then, he heard the door open, and turned to see one of his teammates from the football team walk in. Oh no. Oh fuck, this wasn't good. He quickly whipped his face back to the jacket to hide his dripping face.

His teammate gave him a look of confusion when he saw Kevin holding his jacket under the hand dryer.

"Uh, everything alright there, Kev?"

The teen nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, everything is good, Brad. Just got my jacket wet when I was washing my, uh, my hands. Don't need to worry about it, hah. Everything is cool." He tried to sound as relax as possible, but it probably came out as a pathetic attempt to rather than actually sounding like it.

The teammate nodded. "Alright, man," he said slowly, still seeming suspicious over what exactly was going on with Kevin.

Fuck, he needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

Kevin quickly put his jacket back on, muttering a "see you later" as he walked out of the bathroom and quickly dried his face with his sleeves.

When he got back and sat back down between Nat and Nazz, Nat decided to make a comment.

"Hey, Kev. What's up, man? You took a while in there. What was going on, eh? You jackin' off to something or what?" He said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. This just caused his friend's face to begin turning red.

"The hell are you talking about, Nat? Why the fuck would I do that in a  _public bathroom_  where someone could, I don't know,  _walk in_?!" He was half-shouting, half-whispering. However, the other teens at the table ceased their talking and listened in on what was going on.

As if on impulse, Eddward said, "Language, Kevin." He then put his hands over his mouth in embarrassment. It was like a reflex for him to say that to someone, specifically his friends, though. Oh lord, he was sure he'd be in for it now! He probably just caused himself much trouble amongst the friends of Kevin at school. Stupid, stupid stupid!

"Oh, uh," the ginger paused for a second, turning towards Edd and rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that. Won't do it again or whatever." He then glanced towards the teal-head next to him, glaring at the grin he still had on his face.

Nat snorted. "Man, Kev, you're taking orders from Double Dynamite? That's some insane shit there. I thought  _you_  were usually the one making the rules," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "If you get what I mean," he said, looking at Edd and winking.

Edd gasped and blushed at the innuendo that Nathan had just made, turning his head away and shaking his head. That was so absurd to make such comments. Oh dear. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on keeping himself from internally combusting from the embarrassment he felt.

"Jeez, Nat, do you have no shame? You don't go saying things like that in public, y'know!" Marie retorted, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "This isn't the time for any inappropriate talk. We're here to celebrate Nazz's win in the competition, not to creep people out. So could you, I don't know, cut the normal crap you usually do out for like an hour?" She scowled at him, and even moreso when he laughed at her.

"Relax, Marie! S'all good. Right, Double Delicious?" He turned towards Edd, waiting for an answer as he raised an eyebrow.

Edd actually did lift his head back up, though his face was still slightly red. He had no idea what to say. Honestly, it was quite not alright. He was feeling in a high state of shyness because of the comment Nathan had made. Goodness.

Kevin then elbowed Nat. "It's not 'all good,' Nat. You can't go saying this shit. It isn't cool and it makes people uncomfortable. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Marie on this one; cut your everyday shit out just while we're eating right now. And could you quit using weird nicknames on Double Dweeb? Seriously, man, what the fuck."

With a reluctant sigh, Nat nodded in agreement. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut with any unhumorous jokes to you guys." Then, he looked at Edd. "I apologize for my rudeness, and my use of nicknames," he glanced to Kevin for a moment, "so I hope you will forgive me in return.

Eddward hesitated, but he looked at Nathan. "U-um. I su-suppose it would not hurt to forgive you. I would, however, be delighted if you refrained from being so shameless with your words from now on."

Not missing a beat, the teal-haired boy responded. "Course. I'll be sure to lower my naughty scale down when I'm around you."

Another blush erupted from Edd, causing him to once again cast his head down.

Just then, the waitress came over with their drinks, placing them on the table for all of them.

"Are you all ready to order?" She asked politely, a smile on her face.

"Sorry, we got a little distracted. Do you mind giving us a few more minutes?" Nazz asked back, her lips turned up in the same sweet way as the lady. Always polite, she was.

"Of course not, sweetie. I'll be back to take your orders soon, then," she said, walking off.

"Okay, guys. Let's get our orders ready and then we can start discussing things, okay? I know this is all a new atmosphere for us since we haven't hung our since our Junior High days, excluding Nat since he wasn't here then, but let's try and make the best of it, right? Let's all get along and just have a good time with each other, even if it is only for these few hours or something. If you guys could respect what I want, that's good enough for any sort of gift you'd be giving me for my win. Honestly." Nazz looked to everyone at the table, looking to Marie with a happy smile when the bluenette put her hand on her arm.

Eddy finished the sip of coke he was taking to say his own words. "Yeah, I agree with ya, Nazz."

Kevin scoffed. "Sure you do, Dorky. I bet your agreement is totally genuine and by the time we get out of here we'll be like best buddies, right?" He rolled his eyes, but made an "ow" sound when he was elbowed in the side by the blonde.

She glared at him before turning to the ravenette. "Thank you, Eddy. I appreciate your words and effort to make this dinner nice. It means a lot to me."

After that, they all began looking at their menus and making decisions on what to order.

Several minutes later, when the waitress returned, they all gave her their orders, along with their menus, and she took each of them, walking away once they had finished.

"So," Nazz piped up, "We should all have another group hangout like this! It's fun being with you guys, since you're, like, all my friends. And what's better than having your friends around you, right?" She smiled, glancing at everyone, but leaving her last look on Marie.

She felt as if it was a time for her to talk, so she nodded. "Yeah, of course. I guess being here with dick-for-a-brain and pumpkin head hasn't been as shitty as I expected it to be," she admitted with a small shrug. Of course, Nat pissed her off to no end, and Kevin came close to with this stupid "crush" he apparently had on Edd, but she wasn't one to start crap over nothing.

Nathan stuck out his tongue at Marie. "You're just jealous you can't get any of this," he brought his hands down over his body, shimmying as he did so. The bluenette, in response, rolled her eyes.

Then, "pumpkin head" spoke. "Pushing what Marie said aside, I guess, uh, this is an alright group of people." He was almost about to say something about how he still hated Eddy's guts, but that'd be pushing it too far in numerous ways and he was bound to fuck things up with both Nazz and Edd. And he hadn't even started anything with Edd yet! But, shit, if he let one word slip about that short friend of his, it'd probably be over in a second.

"I do agree with your words, Kevin. I believe that you are all lovely people to hang out with, although I must admit I am not very knowledgeable about how you act, Nathan. However, getting to know about you in the short future would be pleasant," Edd said, smiling at the teal-haired boy, who grinned back.

"Of course, Double Divine. If we keep up these little hangouts then I'm sure we'll be the best of friends, probably by the end of year, maybe even in a couple of months!" The teen was smiling wide at Edd, who responded with a tiny chuckle.

Kevin just rolled his eyes at this whole situation.

Nor Eddy or Ed had anything to say on the matter, as Eddy was simply at a loss of words and, Ed, well, was being Ed.

The conversation continued on for several minutes longer until the waitress came with their food, all of them smiling upon the look of their orders.

* * *

In the midst of their eating, conversation was once again struck up, but this time by Kevin.

"Told ya there's a reason why we're constantly here, Marie," Kevin said, referencing to a conversation the two had in the past.

The female shrugged. "Whatever, annoying orange. I guess this food is alright."

Nazz let out a tiny gasp. "Alright? Marie, they make decent food here for a diner! Most diners I go to rarely care about the food they're cooking, but these guys make theirs well!" She pursed her lips, looking at the bluenette as if daring her to fight back.

Marie merely waved her off. "Okaaaay, Nazz. The food here is nice. I don't know if I'd go as often as your little orangutan friend there, though," she said, shrugging her left shoulder in the direction of Kevin.

The blonde laughed in response. "Orangutan, huh? That's a new one," she said, looking at Kevin, continuing to smile even when she noticed the ticked off look on his face.

Eddy had also began to laugh, and then Ed laughed as well. Then Nat, then Marie. Not Edd, though. And Kevin noticed this as he crossed his arms, trying to hide the glances he made at the hat-wearing boy. Damn, even when they hardly had any friendship between them that dork was still nice to him in the simplest of ways.

Shit, he was beginning to fall pretty hard now.

* * *

When their feast at the diner had ended (a celebration desert included!), they made their way back to the school. They had walked from said place because it was only a ten minute walk, and they hadn't found it to be trouble at the time. Now, however, it was cold, and they had all huddled together to keep warmth.

"Jesus fuck, I can't believe how cold it got," Eddy muttered under his breath.

Kevin actually said a small "yeah" in agreement to the smaller boy's words, surprising them both, but not for long. The cold was highly more distracting then some tiny agreement that anyone would be making right now.

Edd couldn't even find it in himself to correct his dear friend's cursing because he felt the same way. It was way too cold tonight, and oh how he hated it truly right now. He sighed, shivering in the cold.

Once they finally reached the school, the each departed and got into their separate rides for home.

Marie had offered Edd a ride home, but he rejected her believing that his two best friends would be the ones that would take home, since they lived right near each other. So, she took off, leaving him to go and find his friends in the parking lot.

However, he found hardly anything but empty space, seeing that he was ditched by his own two best friends. Still, he didn't take it to heart, because, well, it was freezing outside. Well, okay, maybe he  _did_  take some of it to heart. How could they forget about him? They were so close! And it was so cold! Did they never think of him in such times like this? Or was it perhaps his fault because he was just too slow?

"Hey, dweeb, you got a ride home?"

Edd turned around to see who disturbed his thoughts, finding it to be Kevin. The hat-wearing boy glanced to the ground, suddenly feeling colder than he had just been. He wondered why that was.

Kevin rolled his eyes, grabbing the, now, shorter boy's wrist and pulling him to his motorcycle. In response, Eddward shook his head and bit his bottom him, trying to get his wrist out of the ginger's grasp.

"I-I don't think this is safe, K-Kevin. Motorcycles have caused over four thousand deaths in a year. And even more injured. T-this does not seem like a smart idea," the boy said, wanting nothing to do with what he would now call a "death machine."

The other paid no mind to his words, shoving the helmet over the boy's head and strapping it on. He got onto his motorcycle, glancing back at the nervous wreck he dared to call his crush.

"Are you comin' on or what, dork? If you ride this it'll decrease your walk home by a third. Plus, I," he hesitated, "I'd feel better knowing you got home safe rather than have the chance of you freezing. So just shut up and get on, okay?" His words were quick at the end, and he turned his head away, having felt heat rise to his cheeks. Goddamn, now he was getting all stupid when talking to him? What a new low he's reached.

There was a pause, but Edd slowly climbed onto the motorcycle, not taking his time at all when he wrapped his arms around the other teen's stomach. And, he must say, he did feel a bit of muscle under his shirt. He supposed that was what being on sports teams did to you. Perhaps he should do something to not be so flimsy as he was. Well, last year he had participated in boy's swimming, but did that didn't appear to do much for him. However, maybe he should give it another try, as it would never hurt to do so!

He was caught off guard when the motorcycle was kicked into gear and they were on their way to their little cul-de-sac.

* * *

Edd's grip became tighter throughout the whole ride, and Kevin felt it. He almost wanted to tell the boy to loosen up a bit, but then he remembered that this was his first time on this. And after the fumble of words he had said about the incidents that occurred while on one of these things, he shouldn't be surprised that the shorter was holding on with such strength.

It was a little cute.

A little.

Maybe more than a little. He didn't know right now. He wouldn't know for the next couple days or so. At least now he's getting some time in with the dork, otherwise he'd probably be even more confused having not spent a second of his day catching up with him. Then he wouldn't know if he had changed or not. Actually, now that he thought about it, he  _still_ didn't know if the boy had changed. Damn. He really needed to spend some time with him and sort out his thoughts.

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Maybe he'd ask him to hang out on Sunday. But, fuck, that was so out of the blue.

Why was liking a dweeb so difficult?

Kevin almost outwardly groaned at the situation he didn't like he was in, but somehow managed to hold it in.

He just had to stay calm. He'd find out where these feelings came from eventually.

* * *

When they finally reached the cul-de-sac, Kevin pulled into his driveway, letting Edd get off first before doing so himself. He took off his helmet before removing the other boy's, placing them on the motorcycle.

"T-thank you for the ride, Kevin. I will be taking my leave now, if you do not mind." Edd went to turn around, but was quickly stopped from doing so by a grab on his wrist yet again.

"Listen, dweeb, do ya wanna, I dunno, hang out this weekend? Maybe Sunday?" He tried to hide the hopeful voice in his tone, and wanted to instead pass the words off nonchalantly; like they had been friends for a while and asking to hang out was normal. The ginger also released his grip on the boy's wrist to rub the back of his head awkwardly.

The shorter raised his eyebrows, but nodded to the request. "Of course, Kevin. I could not be opposed to the idea of spending time with a new friend," he said warmly.

And jeez was Kevin glad that it was dark out, otherwise his blush would be so visible.

"Uh, cool. Night, then," he said walking to the door to his house, taking a deep breath before unlocking it with his key and walking in. Shit, he felt like a nervous wreck. This shit couldn't be healthy.

He leaned against the door after he closed it, sliding down it and putting his hands over his face.

" _Damn this dork_."

* * *

Edd, on the other hand, did not seem to be too affected as he crossed the street to his house and prep for bed. He had to hang out with Eddy tomorrow! That was something they had agreed on. Perhaps he could sleep at his friend's house tomorrow night as well in order to assure his safety while his brother was present. That sounded like a tremendous idea! He had to text Eddy immediately.

**Hello, Eddy. I just wanted to remind you that we will be hanging out tomorrow, if I am correct. Please do fix my mistake if I am wrong, however.**

The text was quickly replied back to.

**yeah sure sockhead. also sorry bout leaving you at the parking lot like that. i was in a rush cuz my bro was texting me to get home quick and i went to call for you but i guess you were hidden by cars cuz i didnt see you. so sorry bout that.**

Eddward smiled dearly at the text. So he didn't forget him! That was a relief; he thought that maybe he did something to cause tension between him and his friends.

**That is quite alright, Eddy. I appreciate your effort in attempting to find me, though. If I may ask, might I be able to spend the night at your house tomorrow as well? You did want me to keep you company whilst your brother was home and you had no school or activities to be attending, correct?**

**yeah. that is what i wanted. so you sleeping over is fine with me. lumpy will probably stay too then. are you doin anything sunday?**

The question caused him to pause in his response. How did he tell his friend that he was spending time with Kevin on Sunday? He assumed it would be in the afternoon, to which Edd would leave most likely at least an hour prior to when they would roam about somewhere. Oh, how mad Eddy would be if he told him this!

**Well, Eddy, I am afraid that I am busy on Sunday. I may be able to spend several hours at your house, but I cannot spend the whole day, as I do have plans with someone else. My dearest apologies.**

**other plans? i cant imagine who could possibly be more important than me and lumpy but whatever. just dont do anything that you wouldnt do without us there ok?**

**Yes, of course. I will refrain from indulging in anything too fun during the time we are apart. I thank you for your politeness in allowing me to spend time with others besides the two of you. While I am aware that we are very close, it is quite nice to socialize with others, do you not agree?**

**i guess so. half of the people i talk to during school when we dont have classes are exactly close friends though. theyre just people. you and lumpy are the only people i need if im being honest.**

Edd put a hand over his mouth as if Eddy could see it and notice just how much that statement meant to him. Of course he had the knowledge of them being the closest of friends, but he did not think that his short friend could possibly need him that much.

How sweet.

**That is very sweet of you, Eddy. Now, if you excuse me, it is late and I must be getting to bed. Goodnight, Eddy.**

**night Double D.**

Before he went to sleep, Edd continued to think about his interaction with Kevin that occurred just about ten minutes prior. While it was certainly out of the blue, he was not going to reject the idea of being with a new friend. Especially if it was his old bully; it was nice to start over.

Yes. This was actually quite nice. Hopefully it would only continue to get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 4,900 words, guys. Can you believe it?!
> 
> Anyways, I hope this chapter was enjoyable and lengthy enough for you guys! Please read and leave reviews on your opinions as it is much appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and as always, fill me in on any spelling mistakes!


	6. Morning Duties

When Edd woke up early Saturday morning, he was still as happy as ever. Other kids, if they were to, waking up around seven in the morning would groan and fall right back to sleep in mere seconds. But he could never! Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise was his favorite quote to use in this situation!

He rose up out of bed, stretching his arms with a grin on his face. He climbed out of it, remaking it neatly. Being tidy was always a good thing!

The first thing he did afterwards was what he always did; take a shower. He grabbed what he needed, making his way to the shower and glancing in the mirror.

His hat was slowly removed, and he slowly leaned his head forward to take a tiny glance at the scar in the middle of his head. Oh, if only he could get rid of this! How infuriating it was to have a hideous mark right upon his head. And when he had shown his friends.. Ed was, oddly, intrigued, asking if it had hurt. Eddy, on the other hand, was just as disgusted as he was now. Marie honestly didn't seem to care when he revealed it to her. Of course, not in a rude way, but she still accepted him, which is the happiest thing he could have ever asked for.

Eddward shook his head. That shouldn't matter currently. Why was he suddenly finding interest in looking at it? His precious hat was always on his head; no one else would be seeing it besides Ed and Eddy and Marie. He had duties to do, and should waste no time in getting to them. Such silly thoughts were to be pushed aside.

Thus, he finished undressing himself and stepped into the shower, turning it on to a warm temperature.

Today was, most likely, going to be a quick day. One of his favorite sayings was that time goes by quickly when you having fun! Specifically, when you are having fun with your friends. He could never imagine having fun with others who he did not associate with. Although, last night was quite enjoyable, despite half of the people there not being anyone he was close with.

Well, he was going to start hanging out with them more. Wasn't that the agreement they had? And especially since he was spending time with Kevin tomorrow! Oh that would be just joyous! Or, he thought so, at least.

The ginger  _was_  his childhood bully, and he wasn't sure if things would turn out well between them. However, they were only going out to eat. Maybe?

Oh goodness! He hadn't even asked what they were doing or when they would meet up! That was another thing he would now need to attend to; get Kevin's number, assuming he has a phone, and contact him about the details. Now, he would have to rush his shower.

So, he made haste washing himself, although being thorough.

Edd stepped out of the shower, drying himself and getting dressed in his clothes for the day. Then, he took his toothbrush and the toothpaste. He uncapped the toothpaste and put it on the toothbrush, beginning to brush his teeth.

Once that was done, now he had to begin his duties around the house. All that included was packing for his night over at Eddy's, cleaning any dust, sweeping the floors, mopping the floors, clean the dirtied dishes, count his ant farm to ensure that 5,432 were present, then to do his weekly check for his spider, Mildred, and of course his other spiders, then to check the orbit around the sun so he knew where to perfectly place Jim and Al so they received the needed amount of sunlight, eat and then, his now added task, to get Kevin's number! And then he would finally be able to head off to Eddy's house for a fun day.

So, he began doing the chores, getting the clothes he needed for the time he was spending at his friend's and assuring that no spot was missed during his cleaning and that each ant had been counted for. Whilst he was checking up on Mildred, he swore there was another wink that came from her, causing him to grin widely. His other spiders did not do anything like that, which was okay with him, because there's always a limit on happiness.

And who would know that better than him?

During his positioning of Jim and Al, he tried to think about more positive things than his parents. Of course, he loved them so dearly, but it was quite lonely here, as they worked for the whole day or were on trips and the only time they showed up was when Edd had been fast asleep. Some days, he can hardly remember what they even look like. However, he has postcards taped on a wall in the living room that they've sent to him, and he always takes a quick glimpse there just to recall their appearance.

Edd always wondered if it was a pitiful thing that he had to do that. But, most of the time, he dismissed it immediately. This was one of those times; he had too many things to focus on today. Perhaps he could mourn over his lack of parental guidance another day. As of now, he was preoccupied with getting himself some breakfast!

He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, looking in the fruit bowl to see what his choice would be today. An apple seemed sufficient enough to get him through the day! Or perhaps he should have an orange? Yes, an orange was the better choice. It provides more vitamins, minerals, and fiber compared to the apple. And while it does have more calories, the additional energy it provides is balanced by the additional nutrient benefits! Certainly a good fruit to start off his day.

Thus, Edd took a singular piece of a paper towel before he peeled the orange, throwing out the skin. Then, he slowly took it apart into the several slices in could be taken apart into. He counted them each.

" _Sixteen slices of an orange; the perfect amount._ "

After eating the orange, the teen washed his hands thoroughly. Now, for his final task..

Obtaining Kevin Barr's cellphone number.

Oh how he hoped it wouldn't be difficult! Kevin was not usually someone he talked to, so would it even be polite for him to ask for his number? Then again, they  _were_  hanging out tomorrow, so of course he could! At least, he assumed so.

Goodness! Why was he so stressed over such a silly thing? There was nothing to freak out over in this situation. Kevin was a friend. Yes, a friend. To receive his cellphone number was nothing out of the ordinary nor something that could not be done.

With those thoughts in mind, Edd took a deep breath, gathering up his duffle bag for his night over at Eddy's, opened the door to his house, walked out, shut it behind him, and made his way over to the ginger's house.

Once he reached it, he put down his bag and slowly knocked on the door. It was, he checked his watch, 8:47, meaning that, hopefully, someone would be up at this time.

The door was answered about a minute later by what Edd presumed to be Kevin's father, who looked quite groggy at having been disturbed.

To this, the boy was quick to apologize profusely. "I am so sorry that I have woken you up, Mr. Barr, however I have a question for your son, if you do not mind. If you are angered by my presence, then I will leave immediately."

The man raised an eyebrow at the way he talked, but shook his head and shrugged. "I can hardly understand what you just said besides asking my son something. I'll go get him," he said, turning around and walking up the stairs as he knocked on Kevin's door to wake him.

Edd was looking down at his feet while he heard the shouts of "What do you want, Dad?" and "A friend is here." Then the, "Why is someone here at nine in the morning?" which earned the reply of "He's got a question for ya. And he has a sock on his head. I dunno if you know him or not."

Then, there was a rush of a door opening and someone running down the hall and the stairs, coughing when he got to the door so this person could earn Edd's attention.

The teen looked up, finding Kevin to be standing in front of him, still in his pajamas. Well, he definitely did not expect for the other to get dressed up just for something like this.

"Uh, hey, Double Dweeb. What do ya need?"

Eddward pursed his lips, trying to find the best way of asking the question before opening his lips to speak.

"It appears that if we are going to spend time together tomorrow, I will need to obtain your cellphone number, assuming that you have one. Otherwise, we will not be able to make proper plans for when we go out."

That sounded nice, yes.

Kevin's eyes widened slightly, and he nodded in realization. "Right, right. My bad. I totally forgot to give you my number for this. I'll give it to ya."

Edd took out his phone, going to the "Add a New Contact" section and glancing up at the ginger to let him know that he could speak now.

The taller of the two recited his number, watching as it was entered into the other boy's phone.

" _Shit, now I feel like a fucking fool for not giving him my number last night. I look really stupid to him right now, I bet._   _Why ask him to hang out if you aren't going to even give him your number, ya doofus._ "

Once the boy finished entering it, he saved the contact and put away his phone.

"Thank you very much, Kevin. I will message you immediately and then we can start to discuss our plans for tomorrow," he said with a sweet smile.

The ginger almost blushed. What did he say? He looked at Edd and the duffle bag he held, deciding to try and prolong the conversation whilst getting his mind off just kissing the boy.

"What do ya got the duffle bag for, huh?" He questioned, motioning to it.

"Oh!" He glanced down at the item he held over his shoulder, then back to his new friend with a smile. "I am spending the night at Eddy's, since we decided it would nice for us to spend a long amount of time together. We rarely see each other during the school week, you see, so we are taking the time to see other. I actually may suggest this for every weekend, as it is a good idea, I do believe," he said, mumbling the last part as he put his pointer finger on his chin in thought.

Then, he spoke again. "But do not worry, as we certainly will be continuing our newly found friendship day tomorrow! I have already informed Eddy that I can only stay for a short period of time at his house tomorrow, and he had no rejections to me spending time with another person. However, he does not exactly know it is you that I will be with. So, if you do not mind, I request that you do not say much about this to him, as he will most likely be upset. You are well aware of how he still holds a strong amount of disliking against you. Although, I am not quite sure why he will not let it go," he said, continuing to ramble about the subject.

* * *

Kevin hardly even listened to him. Sure, he was looking at his direction but he was really just eyeing Edd up and down. He was quite skinny, as he knew, but, he did believe that the boy joined the swimming team last year and will most likely join it again. Damn, that would certainly have earned him some muscle, right? But he couldn't tell because of the jacket he was wearing, and at the angle he was at, it was hard to tell if his legs had gotten anything, either. Shit, why was this nerd so cute to him?

As he spent his time pondering why he had fallen so hard for the dweeb, his thoughts were disturbed by a light tap on his shoulder.

"I apologize if I have interrupted any important thoughts, Kevin. But I must be going to Eddy's house, now, as it is," he glanced at his watch and then back to the taller boy, "9:04 now. It has been very nice talking with you, and I cannot wait till I get to do this more tomorrow," he said, not really noticing that those words had a strong meaning to the ginger. "So, I will be sure to message you. Thank you for giving me your cellphone number. I bid you farewell," he added, turning around and making his way to his friend's.

Kevin replied, although a bit late, "See ya, Double Dork," which earned a turn of the other boy's head and a smile. He gave a tiny smile back, but was sure it went unnoticed being that it was so small.

He watched as the nerd walked over to his friend's, desperately trying to not gaze at his butt. But damn, that's what he was after.

Then, he felt another tap on his shoulder, looking to see his father's eyes staring down at him.

"What did the kid want?" He grumbled as he walked over to the kitchen after receiving Kevin's attention.

"Oh, uh, just my number. We're gonna be hangin' out tomorrow, if that's cool with ya," he said, trying to not sound embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand.

His father raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at his son in the middle of getting eggs out of the fridge. "Tomorrow, huh? Alright. I can let you hang out with him. Just don't be back late or anything. You know I'm making your favorite dinner tomorrow," he mumbled, going over to a cabinet to take out a pan.

"Uh, yeah, right, dad. Don't worry, we're probably just going to go out and eat or something. Nothin' too big, y'know?" He looked at the older man, stepping into the kitchen slowly.

"That's fine," was all he got in response.

Kevin slowly nodded, sitting down at the table with four seats present. He found no need to have the extra two seats; he had no siblings and his mom was gone. Why pretend that people were going to be there when they really wouldn't be?

A small sigh escaped his lips while he listened to his father hum as he cooked. He was kind of bored. Shit, he should've taken his phone down.

"Be right back," he said, not rushing at all as he went up the stairs and down the hall to his room.

His door was still open from when he raced out of it earlier to greet the other boy. Ugh, he felt like a fool for seeming so attached to the boy, when he didn't even know anything about his feelings for him.

When he went over to the desk next to his bed and grabbed his phone, he was happy to see a message showing on the lock screen.

**Hello, Kevin. This is Edd. I do hope I have the correct number, though I doubt you would give me a false one.**

Kevin grinned at the text as he unlocked it to respond, making his way back downstairs.

" _This dork is too fucking cute_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I srsly recommend that you read it on ff (.) net because it literally looks so much better in every which way. Anyways, thank you for reeeadddding. My sixteenth birthday is coming up Friday, and then my sweet sixteen party on Sunday so I most likely won't update for like a week. But, yeah. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	7. The Stay at Eddy's House

His message was replied back to in seconds.

**hey double dweeb. on ur way to the tiny dorks place?**

Edd's eyebrows went up at the way he spelled, and practically outward grimaced as well, but he supposed it was something most teenagers did. Goodness, it was highly atrocious that anyone would send messages like this.

**Hello, Kevin. Yes, I am on my way to Eddy's house. In fact, I have just arrived. What are you up to at this moment, if I may ask?**

The boy knocked on his friend's door, having to wait several seconds before his short friend arrived at the door, opening it up to let him inside.

"Hey, Sockhead. You're here as early as usual," the boy grumbled. He rubbed at his eyes before looking up at his friend expectantly. "What? Do you need some special permission to be allowed inside?"

Edd realized he had been simply standing there, having been lost in a daze for no apparent reason. He shook his head in reply.

"Then get in here, dude. No point in staying outside in the cold when you could come into the warmth." Eddy turned around and stepped off to the side, scratching the back of his head. After the taller of the two had walked in, he closed the door behind him. Then, he faced his friend again. "Lumpy is probably still sleepin' and won't be here for a little bit. Wanna just go into my room and chill for the time being?" He asked, a yawn accompanying the question.

The hat-wearing boy nodded as he stepped in, smiling at his friend. "Why, of course, Eddy. That sounds like a pleasant idea. Is there anything specific we will be attending to in your room, though?"

"Not really. We'll just be watching the TV. Nothing too different than the usual crap we do," his friend replied with a small shrug, glancing back.

Edd nodded. "Right. Sounds like a fine thing to me then. Also, language, Eddy," he said in a teasing way, smiling at Eddy as the other just waved off the mantra like he always did.

As they then followed his short friend to his room, the hat-wearing boy glanced at his phone to see that another text had been sent to him from the ginger. He unlocked his phone to read the whole message, as it was rather long.

**my dad is just makin some breakfast for the two of us. he likes to make gourmet breakfasts for some reason idk. i guess i don't mind tho cuz hes a good cook and im proud of him.**

He was slightly surprised to have been given this information. This words sounded like someone you would tell a close friend rather than a mere acquaintance. But, perhaps, does Kevin think of him as a close friend already? Oh my, that would be exhilarating! Shocking, but fantastic! To believe he had moved on from his childish ways of a being the bully of the cul-de-sac. Oh, how proud he was of Kevin! What a great development he has made. This was certainly something he would not share, however. It would sound utterly ridiculous and silly for Eddward to even have such a motherly-like figure towards Kevin already! My, my, he needed to control himself.

" _Control yourself, Eddward. Control yourself, control yourself, control yourself_."

"Hey, Sockhead, watch where you're going," was the warning his friend gave before he had to quickly dodge the wall he was about to just crash into.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Eddy. I apologize, as I was looking at something on my phone and, clearly, was not looking at the path of front of me."

It was almost as if he could feel his friend roll his eyes as he replied, "Whatever. Just don't want ya gettin' hurt. Be careful next time."

While he was sure Eddy wasn't looking, he still nodded in response as they reached the shorter's room, and he began to text the ginger back.

**That sounds lovely, Kevin. I merely make breakfast by myself, but that is rare, honestly. I usually have a fruit in the morning and that is fine enough for me! Still, it does sound quite nice to have a parent to cook meals for you.**

He heard a small groan and looked up from his phone once he sent the text. His cyan eyes saw his friend having turned around and was glaring at him with crossed arms. Oh no, how impolite of him to be doing this. He should have known!

"Eddy, I am sincerely sorry to be conversing with someone else whilst I am here in your friendly abode. I promise that I will put my phone away immediately and dismiss any future messages I receive from my friend. I do truly hope you can forgive me for my rudeness," he said quickly, his face showing that he was genuine in the words he spoke.

Eddy raised his eyebrows when Edd had begun speaking, and they lowered as he had finished his apology. The shorter sighed, shrugging as he stepped right next to him just to close the door.

"Whatever, Sockhead. We don't really have much to do until Lumpy gets here, so, do what you want, man. Or don't, I don't give a shit," his friend replied, laying down on his bed and turning on his TV and beginning to look through the channels for something decent.

For this, Edd was forever grateful (so much so that he didn't even bother to ridicule his friend's language). Oh how lucky he was to have someone like Eddy! He was always so laid-back, where Eddward himself was not. This was an admirable trait, at least to him. Of course Eddy was notorious for getting into arguments with almost everyone at Peach Creek, but, as a friend, he was someone Edd was glad to know.

And as he walked over to accompany his friend on his bed as they would watch whatever was on the television, he found that, at this moment, he could never be as content with his life as he was now.

* * *

Kevin read Edd's message over a few times as he held the phone with one hand, biting his bottom lip at the words. Shit, now he felt bad. He should've remembered how the dweeb barely had any parents. Of course, he  _did_  have them, but from what he knew, the kid never even saw them. Not even for holidays. And fuck, that must hurt.

He knew what it was like to have a parent walk out on him and leave him all alone. She didn't even do it while her father was home, the damn bitch.

The ginger clenched his empty fist as the thought of his mother. That was right. His mother left during one of his dad's nights out with his work buddies. She didn't even bother to say goodbye or anything; one minute she was there and the next, gone.

And goddamn, when his dad came home..

"Alright, son! Breakfast is ready! Better be puttin' that phone away now," his father said with a grin, interrupting his thoughts as scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, accompanied the bowl of fruit that was already on the table.

Right. When his father came home, he was a wreck. God, he had never seen him so upset.

Kevin looked down at the phone in his lap, frowning. He could never imagine what it'd be like to not have at least one parent be there to support you in the things you did. Edd was fucking amazing, and his parents were never there to witness any of it.

"Kiddo? You okay?"

The ginger looked up at his father, rubbing the back of his neck with the (now) unclenched fist, glancing away. "Uh, yeah, dad, I'm fine. Just a little lost in my thoughts, y'know?" His eyes went back to his dad, hoping that no further questions would be asked. This was not something he could talk about right now.

Thankfully, his father just nodded. "I gotcha, son. But if anythin' is ever botherin' you, you just lemme know, alright? I care about you, son," he replied, honest care showing in his eyes.

Kevin snorted, waving his dad's look away. "Yeah, yeah, I know, pops. Just not comfortable talkin' about it right now. But I will later, I promise, okay? But can we not get all mushy before we eat breakfast? It ruins my appetite," he said grinning as his dad.

This earned a smile back from his father, and damn was he glad to see that. He felt like that was hardly possible these days, and it was nice to know he was the cause. All he wanted was for his father to be happy again.

Fuck his mom.

* * *

When Ed finally arrived at Eddy's house (1:36 in the afternoon), the three began their usual routine when they were together.

First, Edd would, although he already had by this point, make snacks for them. Usually they consisted of cut up fruit and sandwiches cut into fourths. There were also healthy granola bars and, thankfully, he found a couple of fruit juices within Eddy's fridge. Oh, how great Mrs. Malony was! She was a fantastic mother figure!

After they would finish their food and drinks, the three would then spend time playing different board games that either Eddy already had or Ed brought over (and they had played most of these games plenty of times, but Edd could not find it himself to complain. What was better than spending time with your close friends? Frankly, nothing).

Time passed quickly as they invested in one gamer after the other. In the middle of one of them, there was a knock on the door, and then a shout.

"Hey, squirt! Ya in there?"

The voice was oh so familiar to Edd, and he saw Eddy outwardly cower in fear at the sound of his own brother's voice. Oh how horrible it made him feel to see his friend like this.

The door was then flung open to reveal a taller, older boy. His looks had hardly changed since Edd had last seen him (middle school graduation), which was years ago. The beard was still present on his chin, and his style was also the same.

A frown appeared on the brother's face. "Ya friends are here while your big bro is over? Didn't ya hear I was going to be here? Why are they here, huh?" His voice did not sound threatening, but to both Eddy and Edd, they knew he will have menace in his words tomorrow, when the two have left. The feeling caused Eddward to feel unsafe and worry for his dear friend. He quickly stood up in defense.

"Excuse me, Mr. Eddy's brother, but we had planned to spend time together for weeks, you see. And we finally have found the chance to. Sadly, it was upon the weekend of your visit to your family, but we do not have any free weekends closer to this one, and we took the chance for a friendly get-together! We hope you can find it in your dear heart to forgive us for making this choice," he fibbed, only slightly regretting it as he bowed slightly at the end.

The brother looked past Edd to raise his eyebrows at his younger sibling. "Ya still have your girlfriend, huh? I thought ya would've dumped her by now."

The words had Eddward jumping up from his position to blush and frown at the nickname he, apparently, still had.

Eddy stood up and went beside the smart boy. "Listen, uh, big bro, he isn't my girlfriend. 'Cause, well, first off, he ain't a girl. He's a boy," he said, trying to sound assertive, but it only came out as a pathetic attempt.

"So he's your boyfriend, then? Didn't know you were a faggot, little bro. Would've expected better from ya with all the porn magazines I gave you when you were younger. I mean, considering you're with these two guys all the time instead of any girls, I guess it's expected. You're probably havin' threesomes all the time, aren't ya? How the fuck did you turn out like this, hm?" His brother crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, obviously not going to leave until he was satisfied.

Eddy looked highly offended and almost about to yell, before he realized who he was talking to. "No, listen, big bro, I'm not gay, okay? I'm as straight as a line, I swear. He's just my good friend, you know that! And so is Ed! We've been friends for years," he said in defense, but a weak one since he didn't want his brother to more pissed off than he already is.

This earned a snort from his older brother. "You keep tellin' yourself that, lil' bro. But face it, you're a fag," he said, laughing as he uncrossed his arms and his expression softened in a sick way.

Before he turned to leave, he smiled at Eddy. "We'll be hangin' tomorrow, alright? Mom wants us to spend some quality time together. Meaning, make sure your friends are gone," he said, a wicked grin on his face as he left, shutting the door behind him.

Edd could see his short friend's face pale dramatically as he was then grabbed by his friend.

"Edd, ya gotta save me! You know how my big bro is! You know what he does to me," he pleaded, voice full of panic as his friend looked at him.

The smart boy bit his bottom lip as he tried to figure out ways to get Eddy out of his current predicament. He shook his head solemnly. "Eddy, I-I don't know what to do for you. You know I have plans tomorrow. I cannot cancel them."

Eddy looked hurt by Edd's words, shaking his head. "How could you do this to me, Sockhead? You're my friend! You should be here for me. You should be protecting me from him! You can't let him do anything to me! Why.. why would you when you know what he does?" Eddy questioned softly to avoid his brother hearing.

"Eddy, I-I just-"

Arms wrapped around his waist as he felt his friend's body collide with his. He stumbled back slightly, but hugged his friend tightly. He couldn't let this happen. Knowing that something horrible would occur during the two brother's time together.. oh how guilty he would feel!

No, he could not just let Eddy go through his alone. How could he ever call himself a friend when he would let this happen?

"Eddy, I will cancel my plans. I'm sorry for not saying this sooner." He felt a sob in response and the grip on his waist grow tighter at the words.

Eventually, Ed had gotten up from his spot and hugged the two, crushing them together.

"It is okay, guys. As the alien Norweginal said, we must not let the two-legged rocks win! We have to fight for our homeland or else we die," the taller said, a grin on his face as he said the words.

A small scoff was heard from Eddy. "Can it, Lumpy," he said, although no threat was in his voice.

When they pulled away from the hug, Edd looked at his short friend dearly, smiling to try and make him feel better. However, he himself felt upset at knowing he would have to cancel plans with his new friend.

"Eddy, if you excuse me for a moment, I am going to let my friend know that I must cancel our plans, as something important has come up and is in need of my attention."

He waited for his friend to nod before he walked over to the bed, opening his bag and taking out his phone to cancel the plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeez. Sorry that it took me a loooong time to update, guys. I've been so busy now that my finals are, quite literally, around the corner. I also wanted to make this chapter longer than what they usually are because I would like to give you all something to read. So, that will most likely mean it will take a bit longer for me to release chapters, but they will be a good amount of words, I believe, if I continue to do it this way. Also, summer will be here soon, so that gives me a bit of free time to do write this.
> 
> Also, sorry that this was kind of a bad chapter. I tried to write this but it kept seeming so terrible and I didn't want to leave you guys without an update for longer than this.
> 
> ALSO, I just figured out the difference in rich text and html soooo the bold and italics and stuff should show up now!! Maybe I'll edit the past chapters..
> 
> Please inform me of any grammar/spelling mistakes, and as always, please Read and Review! See you in the next one
> 
> -Octavia Vectorr


	8. Kevin & Nazz & Nat

In order to not disappoint his father, Kevin put his phone in his left front pocket so there would be no disturbances. Because, damn, if he took it out while at the table his dad would get  _pissed_. And he really didn't feel like having to deal with an angry ex-quarterback who could probably kick his ass if the ginger had the guts to challenge him. Which, he had, but that was during his early years, and he was super positive that his dad was going easy on him on purpose.

However, there wasn't any  _need_  to check his phone; Edd never texted him back.

" _Probably busy with those stupid dorky friends of his_ ," he thought to himself, as he was finishing off his meal. There was no other option for what he could be doing, especially since he was at that stupid short dork's house. Ugh, it got him so mad just to even  _think_  about that scammer.

After he finished eating, he got up out of his seat and smiled at his dad. "Thanks for the food, dad. Do you mind if I go out with some friends today?" He took his plate and utensils and brought them over to the sink, turning on the hot water to begin washing them.

As he was wetting the sponge and proceeding to put soap on it, he heard a clearing of his father's throat before words were spoken by said man.

"Who are these friends, Kevin?"

Kevin rolled his eyes as he began washing his dish. "Nat and Nazz, dad. There isn't anyone else I usually hang out with, you know that," he said, cleaning the soap off the dish and putting it in the dry half of the split sink. Then he began to wash the utensils.

A snort was heard from his father, and he stopped washing the fork and knife to see what his dad found so funny. His eyebrows began to narrow in confusion as he looked at the older man.

"Hmm, alright then, son. I'm glad to know that you have so many friends by your side," his father said with a chuckle, grinning at Kevin. These words just caused the ginger to glance away and blush a little.

"Dad, you know that I have other friends. Nat and Nazz are just my close ones, okay?" He looked at the man, embarrassment on his face. Wow, wasn't he too old to be making these kinds of jokes? Apparently not, since he was doing it currently.

His father got up with his dish and fork and knife in hand and walked over to the sink, hovering over Kevin. "Yes, yes, I know," he said with a grin. "I'm only teasing you, son. Now, if you may excuse me, I have to wash my dish," he added on, nudging his son out of the way.

The ginger put the sponge back in the sink and quickly washed his hand of any soap. He grabbed a paper towel and began drying his hands as he protested, "Dad, I haven't finished my cleaning my fork and knife yet, are you, like, gonna clean 'em or somethin'?"

"Yep. I don't mind. You go off and do what you gotta do, okay?" Mr. Barr turned to his son with a smile before focusing back on cleaning the dish and utensils.

Kevin smiled back at his dad and quickly went up to his room. He shut the door behind him and laid back on his bed. Damn, his dad was the best sometimes, even for the little things he did.

He reached down his right front pocket, surprised when he didn't feel a phone. He hastily searched in his left front pocket, breathing a sigh of relief when he felt it and pulled it out.

Now, to call Nat and Nazz and pray that they were free.

First, he would call Nat. The teal-haired asshole was usually, if not always, free. Would he prefer Nazz to be free more than Nat? Well, if someone asked him to tell the truth, he wouldn't lie about it, that's for sure.

When he dialed the number, it took three rings for him to answer.

"Hellllo! You've reached Nathan Goldberg, how can I help you today, sexy?"

Kevin groaned. "Do answer the phone to everyone like that? Jeez, and I thought you couldn't get any worse," he said, palming his face and shaking his head at his friend.

Nat just laughed on the other end. "Only sometimes. To certain people. Like you, for example. And sometimes Nazz. Y'know, speaking of Nazz, she actually finds me funny! I would think my best bro would also appreciate my great sense of humor. You hurt me, Kev. You hurt me real bad," he replied.

The ginger rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, Danny Zuko. Are you free today? More like, right now, I guess." He pulled away from the phone quickly to check the time; 9:42. Did he really want to go to his house so early?

"I'm free all the time, man! Well, most days. Some days I feel like hangin' with other people or goin' to parties. You know me, Kev," he said, and damn Kevin could almost see the expression and flamboyant movements of his friend's as he spoke.

He looked up at the ceiling, nodding, although his friend couldn't see. "Yeah, I do, asshole. Listen, I'm gonna call Nazz, but expect me to be over at your house or some shit soon, okay?"

A loud gasp was heard. "You're gonna invite Nazz, too? Helllll yeah! Sounds like a party! We might as well just go to her house, then right? She's got the best shit there, and I like her dog. He's friendly. Ask her if we can go to her house, man. My house is booooring!"

"Ugh. If she's busy don't expect me to let you know. I'm just going to go to your house without a word, alright? Now lemme call Nazz," he said quickly, not even listening to Nat'z protests as he hung up on him.

Then, he dialed the girl's number. Not surprisingly, she picked up within the first ring.

"Kevin? What's up, dude?"

"Uh, hey, Nazz. Are you doin' anythin' today? Nat and I were thinkin' if we could all chill at your place for the day? I mean, I actually kind of have stuff to talk about," he mumbled, feeling shy even over the phone.

Nazz giggled. "Nah, I'm free, Kev. What's up? Got more details on little crush? If you need a group talk about him, I'll be sure to prepare our day for with the best stress-alleviating activities!"

Kevin snorted, trying to ignore the topic. "Are you sayin' you're gonna do more of that face cream and nail painting shit? I'm not a girl, Nazz," he said, although his words weren't nice, he didn't sound the least bit angry.

"Well,  _Nat_  and  _I_  like it, so we overrule you. Two beats one, Kev. Guess you'll have to suck up having pink nails for the weekend! But, hey, at least you'll good.  _And_ , it's a free makeover! So you should, maybe, I dunno,  _appreciate_  it?"

"Boy, a free makeover. Nazz, have you noticed that I'm not, I dunno, a  _girl_? I'm not into those kinds of things. S'not what I do. Except for when you guys force me." He paused to chuckle a little and hear the blonde's laugh on the other end. "Listen, you're right. About what I need to talk about and have this group hangout shit. Do you mind? Like, if that's what it's about?"

"Jeez, Kev, how can you protest that you're not a girl when you completely sound like one?" Another laugh (louder this time) was heard. "Dude, it's perfectly fine. I get ya, okay? Crushes are something you need to talk about, that's the reason why you like them in the first place! So, yes, you guys can come over my house to talk about Edd. It's okay, Kev."

Kevin could feel the smile on Nazz's face. She was always so genuine about shit, and damn, he was so glad they were just friends rather than dating or some other crap. Everyone also demanded they would be destined for each other, but fuck no; she was a sister to him, for crying out loud! Sheesh.

"Uh, thanks, Nazz. Really. I mean it. I'll be there in a bit."

After the two shared their goodbyes, Kevin hung up the phone.

Now to call Nat again.

* * *

_10:34_

The ginger knocked on the blonde girl's door as he glared at his friend that was chuckling at the joke he just made.

"C'mon, man, I'm only teasing! Don't get so worked up about it," Nathan said, holding his hands up in defense while a grin was wide and proud upon his face.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Don't be sayin' shit like that about my crush, okay? I hate to fuckin' admit it but you know I'm a little sensitive about him. And, man, I don't want to end up punching you in the face because of some guy."

Suddenly, the door opened, and an eavesdropping Nazz von Bartonschmeer appeared.

"But we all know he isn't just  _some_  guy to you, Kevin," she said in a sing-song voice. "Why don't you guys come inside? I've been waiting here, all prim and proper for my two favorite boys, and you guys take near half an hour to arrive! We don't live that far apart, you know that right? Did you forget what my house looks like for a moment or something?" She stepped to the side, allowing the two to step inside of her house.

"Har, har, har, Nazz," Kevin said, frowning as he stepped inside along with Nat. "We never said exactly when we'd be comin', just that we would be, so don't get your panties in a twist," he added, now grinning at the blonde.

Nazz narrowed her eyes and was about to make a retort when Nat interrupted.

"Ladies, ladies, calm down. It'll all be okay." He turned to Nazz. "Now that we're here, why don't we talk about Kevin's boyfriend, hm?" The teal-haired boy winked at the ginger as he blushed from the term.

Kevin crossed his arms. "He isn't my boyfriend, Nat."

"Not yet," Nazz hummed. "But he will be soon enough! Just have to keep workin' at it, yeah? Let's go get some food and then chill in my room," she said, leading the boys into the kitchen to grab some grub before they followed her to her room.

The ginger waited until they were pleasantly seated in the female's room before he spoke up. "I  _am_  workin' at it," he said silently, and then paused. "I'm hangin' with the dork tomorrow," he added in a mumble, glancing away from both of them.

The blonde turned towards him. "No way!" She waited for Kevin's nod before squealing and hugging the boy. "I'm so totally happy for you!" She pulled away to clasp her hands together, grinning.

Nat patted Kevin on the back. "Nice, man. Surprised you made a move on him. What made you decide to do that?"

"I dunno. He figured it was just some dumb thing about two 'new friends hangin' out,'" he said, waving his hands to almost mock the idea.

"Little does he know that you actually just want to get with him," Nazz said, elbowing his arm with her eyebrows raised at him.

Nathan made a loud clap, smiling wide. "Woohoo! Our man Kev is gonna get a boyfriend with a good butt. I'm proud of ya, man. You get that booty." He put both hands on each of the ginger's shoulders and leaned in close. "You'll be tappin' it in no time," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

This earned him a push off the bed, while Nathan made an "oof" sound, as Kevin clenched his teeth. However, the teal-haired boy just barked out laughter to the angry face of his friend.

"The fuck, man?! I'm not after his butt! I mean," he backed down a little, "like, it's nice, but, I like him for him! I think. Fuck I dunno," he added, putting his palm on his face. "Shit, why the fuck do I like him so much?"

The blonde put a hand on one of his shoulders to comfort him. "Kev, if there's one thing I know about love, or crushes, in this case, it's that you don't always have to pinpoint why you like them right away. If you like them, you just like them. And that's all there is to it. Don't be let down by your confusion, okay? I mean, if you're Nat, you know you're mainly after the ass. I don't even think he's been a real relationship before." She turned to said boy. "Have you dated anyone, Nat?"

As he climbed back on the bed, he shook his head. "Nope, I haven't dated anyone. I just hookup with guys, girls, anyone. As long as they have a nice butt, I'm all for it." He put his hands behind his head, laying back with a smile.

"Right, of course. I shouldn't have expected you to get intimate with anyone like that," she teased, grinning at the teal-head before returning her gaze to her childhood friend. "Anyways, Kev, no sweat. Just breathe and everything will be okay." She removed her hand and picked up the remote, turning on the television. "Now, what are we going to watch?" Nazz asked, turning to the boys.

* * *

A few hours later full of lame cartoon shows or reruns of old ones passed by quickly, and the three were all comfortably (sort of) laid back on the girl's bed.

Currently,  _Zoey 101_  had just come on, and Nazz shot up from her spot with a loud gasp.

"Man, oh man! I love this show so much. I wish he kept going, y'know? But then Jamie just  _had_  to get pregnant! Ugh," she groaned, flopping back down.

Nat laughed. "Damn, Nazz. Didn't know you were so into old Nick shows."

"Are you kidding?! They're like my life! I love them so much! Today's Nick shows are complete crap, to be honest. I don't know why they show some of the things they do. Like, Drake and Josh and Degrassi are where it's at! Of course, including Zoey 101. But also, the old cartoons were freaking amazing!"

As Nazz continued her spew of her love of the older shows while Kevin took out his phone to check for messages. There were a couple from his teammates but there was one in particular that caught his eye. Double D had finally sent him a message back.

He opened it, reading it over numerous times to make sure he was seeing this message correct.

**Kevin, I am messaging you to apologize for the following; I have to cancel our plans tomorrow. I feel utterly distressed for causing a calamitous but, sadly, urgent matters have come to my attention. While I would have wholly wished to spend time with you tomorrow afternoon, I am so sorry for not being able to. I only hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me. If you do not mind, perhaps we could schedule for future plans? I believe I will once again be spending the night at Eddy's next Saturday, so perchance we could reschedule for next Sunday within the same time period we thought of? I would find utter joy in having a moment of time for us to catch up on our lives, although I am, honestly, timorous that you may reject this offer. As I read this over it appears to me that I am being loquacious; my apologies. Once again, I am sorry for having to cancel our plans and I hope that you do not dismiss the offer. Thank you.**

Kevin went onto his internet browser to search up a few of the words (calamitous, timorous, and loquacious), so that he could fully understand the meaning of his apology.

"Oh shit," he said aloud, pressing his palm to his face and putting down his phone.

The two turned to him.

"What happened, Kevin?" Nazz asked, leaning towards her friend.

The ginger shook his head as he removed his palm, sighing. "Edd canceled on me. Apparently some urgent shit came up. Fuuuck," he groaned out, closing his eyes as he frowned.

The girl frowned as well. "Oh, Kev, I'm so sorry to hear. What'd he say? Can you read it to us?"

"Yeah, sure." He grabbed his phone again (and had to unlock it since he had locked from the amount of time he hadn't touched it), repeated the message (making sure to define the advanced words Edd used), and glanced at both of his friends.

Nat whistled. "Damn. Double Delicious really lays out the apology, though, I gotta say." He raised both of his eyebrows, although there wasn't much of a grin on his face.

"Are you going to accept his offer of rescheduling or what, dude? I think you totally should, just saying." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I mean, if you  _really_  like him, then you definitely need to say yes. If you don't, well, I guess we know how you truly feel," she said with a sly smile.

Kevin scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, Nazz. Of course I'm gonna accept the offer. I do," he bit his lip, "I do like him. A lot. Hangin' out with him would be pretty great, and, well, he put it so nicely it's kinda like, how am I supposed to reject him? And I know he's stressin' over it, by that word he used. Timorous, or whatever. So, yeah, I'm going to say yes."

"Because you pity him?" Nazz asked, her eyebrows raised.

"What? How the hell did you get that from what I just said?" Kevin sat up and questioned back.

"Well, because, you're asking about how you're supposed to reject him when you know that he's probably extremely upset over having to cancel! I know you like him, Kev, but is it genuine or what?" She had her arms crossed now, and her eyebrows lowered.

Kevin nodded. "Yes, Nazz. It's genuine. Can you like, I dunno, do that stupid makeover thing now? Or your feel-better-home-remedy crap? With the ice cream? I officially have been bummed out," he said, sliding back down onto the bed.

The blonde laughed. "Sure, Kev. But if want ice cream and a fun makeover, you have to help me! Also, text him back your answer. And maybe I'll bring Tazz up with us. He likes you guys! And I think he's getting kind of fond of you, Nat, to be honest. I don't know how you do it, but sometimes I wonder if he enjoys your company more than he likes mine! I've been the one raising him for the past two months, though!"

Nat, meanwhile, fist pumped. "Hell yeah! I'm gonna look fucking fabulous after you give me a makeover. And also, Nazz, you know what they say, don't you? I mean, I assume so since you're in that theatre class and whatnot. In case you don't, the saying is, 'Distance makes the heart grow fonder.' I think that's what's happenin' here," he said with a wide grin and a laugh. "Anwyays, let's go get the stuff and get this party started!"

With a groan from the ginger and more laughter from the girl, the three went downstairs to obtain the needed items.

As Kevin pulled out his phone to accept the offer, he was lost in his own thoughts.

" _Even with this little remedy Nazz had, I'm so completely fucking sure I will still feel shitty about having to wait a week before I get to talk with the dork. Ah fuck me, this shit sucks. I just wanted to hang out with him and now things got fucked. Shit, shit, shit. Can't things just go my way for once? Just once?"_

**thats fine w/ me dork. also don't apologize ok? i get that shit happens and thats ok. we'll just reschedule for next sunday.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Read and Review~
> 
> -OctaviaVectorr


	9. Conflicts Within Eddy's Home

The rest of the evening went smoothly.

For the most part, that is.

Eddy, unsurprisingly, was still shook up by his brother's words when time for eating dinner came around. This was something that most definitely did not go unnoticed by Edd, or shockingly, the taller Ed.

"Do not worry, Eddy," Ed said, pulling the shorter into a tight squeeze. "Double D and I will stick to you like glue so you do not get hurt by your bigger brother," he added, a grin on his face.

The hug had Eddy squirming and gasping for air as he breathed out, "Yeah, I get it Ed! Could you," cough, "let go of me now or somethin'? You're killin' me, Lumpy!"

After another cough left his mouth, the ginger quickly pulled back. "Oh no! I am sorry, Eddy. I hope you do not die."

Eddy waved him off slowly as he continued trying to get his heart rate back to a normal speed. "I'm," pause, "I'm fine, Ed. You don't need to worry." Although, the tone in his voice was not seeming like he even cared about the words Ed had said.

Eddward listened to the two converse as he cooked up a simple homemade Macaroni and Cheese. The two loved it, and he loved it, too. So why shouldn't he make something to help lighten the mood of earlier?

This caused the smart boy to smile softly to himself, albeit it was a sad one. He was truly not over what happened. How could Eddy be treated by his brother like that? Of course, he knew it was a sick and twisted relationship; Eddy looked up to his brother for everything, even when he abused him. And Edd knew that his friend knew how bad it was by now, but still he hadn't said anything to the police or even his family!

A silent sigh escaped his lips. His parents most likely wouldn't believe him unless he had proof. But even then, would they think it was their own son? Edd himself would most likely be in disbelief at the thought of his own child harming their sibling. It was such a disconsolate thought to have, or, for this matter, fact to believe.

The boy himself couldn't think it to be true at first when he was told about it. However, he noticed that he had no knowledge of sibling relationships, and it was most likely best to listen to Eddy's words on what was going on within his own home. If he had a sibling, he would never want this to happen. If he had  _children_ , he would never want this happen.

There was a tap on his shoulder which disturbed his thoughts. He glanced over to see none other than the boy he was just thinking about.

"How long is this going to take, Sockhead? Me and Ed are hungry."

Edd rolled his eyes. "Ed and  _I_ , Eddy. If you are going to disturb me from my cooking, then at least do it properly," he sassed, crossing his arms with a grin down at his friend.

His friend, in return, scoffed. "Whatever. Answer the question, would ya? Or,  _my bad_ , would  _you_?"

The hat-wearing boy raised his eyebrows. "I am waiting for another word, Eddy," he said, looking expectantly at the short boy.

"Another word? C'mon, Sockhead. What else do I have to say for you to give me an answer?" He crossed his arms, giving Edd a look of pursed lips and narrowed eyes from confusion.

"Goodness, Eddy. Must I teach you about  _manners_? You are a junior, are you not? You should have learned the words 'please' and 'thank you' when you were a small baby." He shook his head, going back to focusing on the food.

Eddy groaned. "Sockhead, could you  _please_  tell me when the food will be done? Ed and I are very hungry and are in need of your oh-so-delicious meals," he said in an over exaggerated sweet voice.

This earned a chuckle from Edd. He turned his head back to his friend. "It shall be done within a half an hour, Eddy. Please do me a favor and watch television while you wait."

Eddward watched as the shorter waved off the extra "nonsense," as he so called it, after he had gotten his answer. Then, his eyes followed his friend grabbing Ed and taking him to his room.

Thank goodness that now there was peace and quiet for him to cook in peace.

* * *

When the food was done, he distributed it evenly onto plates and set them on the table with forks and napkins beside them. He walked over to Eddy's room, knocking politely on the door and awaited an answer.

It took a few minutes (especially after some shouting was done by Eddy, which Ed returned with laughter) before the short friend opened the door with an upset, flushed look on his face. "The food done?"

Edd nodded slowly, glancing over his friend to see what the expression on his face was for. However, he would focus on that in a few seconds. Quickly, he responded, "Yes it is, Eddy. I hope you are hungry!"

Then, he was shoved aside (although lightly) as Eddy went to the kitchen/dining room to feast upon Edd's cooking.

The smarter took it upon himself now to look at what had happened. He stepped inside of the room, walking over to Ed as he glanced over all of the destruction they had created in the room just during the half hour he had cooked. Ed was holding a brown moleskin journal.

"Um, Ed, may I ask why Eddy is so upset? And what is it that you are holding?"

Ed stood up, grinning down at Edd. "Because, Double D! I found his diary and read about what he wrote! It has some really good stories in here!" He held up the journal for Edd to see, but he refused to look at what was in there. Diaries were for personal feelings!

"Oh, Ed, how could you do this? This has personal thoughts that Eddy has," he slowly removed the journal from Ed's hand, continuing. "You cannot go around reading this and showing it off to people. That is a rude gesture, Ed. Especially as a friend." He put his free hand on Ed's shoulder. "Do you understand?"

The taller looked as if he did, for a moment. However, the words that came after completely contradicted what Edd had hoped for.

"The only thing I know is that chickens are beautiful creatures that should be loved forever and ever," the boy said with a large smile on his face and a far-off look in his eyes.

Eddward sighed. "Right, of course. Well, the food is ready. So, why don't we go eat?" He removed his hand from Ed and also put down the journal safely on Eddy's bed before he guided Ed out of the room and into the dining room.

When the two sat down, Eddy was slowly eating as if he was ashamed of something. This only made complete concern the single feeling Edd had. But he knew he couldn't ask; it most likely had to do with whatever was in that journal, and never would Edd ever ask about such personal matters if the person in question was not comfortable revealing information.

Of course, Eddy caught sight of the smart boy looking at him, and gave him a questioning look. Though, he wasn't one filled with confusion; it was filled with anger.

"Whatcha lookin' at, Sockhead?" He asked, and Edd knew the words were most likely meant to have an angry fervor in them, it came out sounding vulnerable.

Edd shook his head. "Nothing, Eddy. I just spaced out, as I usually do." He faked a chuckle, smiling at his friend. "You know how I am, don't you? You're always teasing me for it," he added, desperately trying to make his friend even the tiniest bit happier.

Instead, his friend's upset expression stayed on his face. "Whatever, Sockhead," was the simple response that came out of his mouth before he went back to eating.

"Aw, come on, Eddy!" Ed suddenly burst out saying, catching both of the boys' attention. "Do not be upset because you have feelings for Double D! He is a very nice guy. I have feelings for him, too," he continued with a nod, clearly not understanding what those words meant.

The hat-wearing boy gasped. He slowly looked over to Eddy, whose ears (and most likely his whole face, but he couldn't tell because he was facing the ground) had gone red.

A long silence filled the table before Edd bit his bottom lip and decided to speak.

"I-is it true, Eddy?"

Eddy stayed silent, clearly not wanting to answer, and, while usually he would have no problem not pressing the matter, this had to do with him now, and he deserved to know. Or, at least, he  _believed_  he deserved to know.

"Eddy, please answer me. This involved me and I should know what is going on. We can talk about it in-"

His voice was covered over by the shorter getting out of his chair and quickly walking over to his room. A slam of the door was heard and Edd's shoulders slumped.

"Oh dear," he said silently.

"Double D," Ed began, "what is wrong with Eddy?"

Edd shook his head. "I cannot say for sure. I do believe he is embarrassed, but, he might be very upset with you just saying that information out loud." He looked up at his friend, frowning. "I told you that it was rude to read it, Ed. That was his personal business and you cannot go shouting those things like they have no meaning," he said, his voice getting a little louder as it filled with anger.

Oh, how could Ed do this? Now, he knew that the taller was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but could he at least have some decency to listen to the words he said? Goodness gracious! Now their trio of friendship was jeopardized from this! Could anything go more wrong?

As if on cue, Eddy's brother walked in.

"Did I hear one of ya shout something about my lil' bro bein' a fag?" He asked, a wide grin on his face.

"No, there was nothing like-"

"Yes! Eddy has feelings for Double D. But when I told him that I have feelings for Double D, too, he got very angry at me and now he stomped away. I do not understand. I thought feelings were normal."

Edd bit his bottom lip. "N-no, Ed, you see-"

"Huh, how interesting. Can't believe my lil' bro' is a fag." He shook his head. "I thought I brought him up right," Eddy's brother interrupted with a shake of his head. The grin lingered on his face, however.

Eddward shook his head. "E-excuse me, Mr. Eddy's brother, but you must understand that, while I am not saying that he is, even if he was, t-there is nothing wrong with it. It is a perfectly normal thing, and you cannot be upset with him that he is not how you wished him t-to be. He, um, he is who he is." These words were spoken with slight confidence, but the confidence dimmed down slightly when he came to a finish of his speech.

Eddy's brother sighed. "I don't know what ya mean. Bein' a fag isn't normal. His dick is meant to go in  _girls_ , not in  _other guys_. There's somethin' wrong with my brother. And that's why, tomorrow, I'm going to fix him up right. He'll learn that bein' a fag isn't the right thing to do. Once I get through to him, he'll know his mistake, and then he'll be all over chicks again, just like he was when he was younger." He said these words with a triumphant smile, but Edd knew the meaning behind them.

"I cannot allow you to do anything to him, Mr. Eddy's brother. I have promised Eddy that I will spend time with him tomorrow, as he," he hesitated at having to make up a lie, "needs help with a certain subject." Well, it was not lying, but it was not the complete truth, either.

A scoff came from the shorter's brother. "Help with a certain subject? Why doesn't he let his older brother help him? We'll get some quality time in."

Edd shook his head. "Y-you see, Mr. Eddy's brother, I am amongst the smartest kids within my whole school, and Eddy would prefer to learn from someone will all the knowledge that could be humanly possible. While, of course, there is no indication that he believes that you are unintelligent, it is just that he would love to learn from the best. And, you see, since we are friends, it makes it even better for him, wouldn't you agree?"

His brother took this all in, narrowing his eyes as if he didn't believe it for a second.

Quickly, the hat-wearing boy continued in hopes of convincing him. "So, please, do not be upset with Eddy for not being able to spend much time with you during your weekend here. Perhaps during your next stay the two of you could have more of a brotherly time together, yes?"

As he bit his bottom lip, Edd felt completely worried that perhaps he hadn't convinced Eddy's brother as well as he had wished.

" _Oh goodness_. _This is it_. _This is it_. _He is going to make all of our lives horrible for this_. _Oh no. This can't be it_ , _please_. _I just want to ensure Eddy's safety. Please, do not let this be it_."

"Fine," was the single word that was drawled out by the older male.

This took the smart boy by complete surprise, and he pursed his lips to keep himself from grinning.

"I'm going to be back by the time summer comes, maybe. Maybe earlier. I doubt it, though, 'cause I work insane hours and have so much shit to do. So, when I come, you guys better let him be free so we can spend time together."

Edd nodded quickly. "Yes, of course. Eddy will be ready for your arrival when you come back here, I promise." He smiled at the taller man, although it was slightly fake. All he wanted was for him to go away so he could get to Eddy and tell him the good news.

Eddy's brother nodded. "Good." He looked like he might say more, but he turned on his heel and walked back to his room.

A breath he did not even know he was holding came out of Edd's mouth. He smiled a real smile this time. "Oh thank goodness," he said quietly. Then, he turned to Ed.

"Now, Ed, as I was saying. The type of feelings Eddy feels for me is most likely similar to," he pondered for a moment, "the way you feel about chickens. You love them dearly, do you not?"

Ed clapped his hands. "I love chickens, Double D!"

Eddward nodded. "Eddy most likely feels that same way for me. And, when it comes to people feeling that way to people, it is usually more of a private thing until they tell the person they feel that way for. This is why Eddy was so upset that you shouted that," he said, frowning.

"Oh," Ed said, a frown forming on his face. "Will he be okay?"

It took a second for him to think it over, but he nodded again. "Yes, I do believe he will be okay. If you excuse me, I am going to go check on him. Why don't you finish eating your food?" He began walking to Eddy's room before stopping. "But, Ed, please do not eat mine or Eddy's food."

As he once again took his leave to continue his short journey to Eddy's room, he just hoped the shorter was okay and had not done anything to terrible.

When he reached the room, he knocked on the door.

"Go away!" Came a shout.

"Eddy, please. It is me. You know I do not wish for any harm. Could you please let me in so we can talk calmly about this? I know it is a subject that upsets you, but I want you to know my side on the matter before you begin to assume things."

When nothing was heard, he added, "Please, Eddy. This is all I want."

Footsteps coming towards the door and unlocking the knob made their way to Edd's ears, causing him to grin when the short boy revealed himself.

"Come inside. Now."

Edd did what he was told without caring. He was just happy that his friend had even let him in the room. He thought that maybe their friendship was a complete disaster now! But, thankfully it was not.

"Hey, Sockhead, could you stop spacin' out? Jeez, I'm trying to talk to you!"

Double D shook his head to bring himself back. "I'm sorry, Eddy. Please do repeat your words."

Eddy sighed. "I just said that I want to know what your feelings were. Like, y'know, about what Ed shouted back at the table," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah, well, you see, Eddy." Eddward pursed his lips, honestly not sure what to say. "I will admit, I am highly flattered by this. In fact, I honestly did not expect it at all. But I'm afraid that I do not share your feelings. At the moment, I am not interested in anyone. And, I," he paused, collecting his thoughts, "I know this must be disappointing to you, after you have come out to me and I came out to you. I just do not believe I can handle being in a relationship right now. But I do believe that you will, soon, find someone who is just your type. I am not saying that it is not me, but, right now, it isn't."

It took a few minutes for, what Edd assumed, Eddy to take in all of the words he just said. Eventually, though, he gave a slow nod in response, looking down for a second and then looking back up.

"So you're saying I could have a chance at getting with you in the future?"

Eddward blushed, scoffing. "I-I suppose you could put it that way, Eddy. But do not ignore the rest of what I said! A-and," he got quiet, "if we do not end up together and I perhaps end up with someone else or you end up with someone else, could we please have no hard feelings? You know I would detest our friendship coming to our end from such a meaningless thing like this."

"I-yeah. Yeah, sure, Sockhead. If it'll help ya sleep at night."

Edd hugged his friend tightly.

"Oh thank you, Eddy! I knew you would understand. This is why you're my best friend," he said, pulling away with a kind smile.

Eddy smiled back.

"Now, why don't we go finish our food? I dearly hope Ed hasn't taken it from us. Although, I did tell him to  _not_  do that. Do you think he listened?"

The shorter of the two shook his head. "Nope. But we better go check just in case. It was pretty good, so honestly I wouldn't blame Lumpy for eatin' all of it," he admitted with a grin.

Double D sighed, rolling his eyes with a grin as the two walked out of Eddy's room and back to the dining table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh sorry for the really crappy ending, haha. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And despite what happened in the last section, do expect more conflicts to come along that this chapter has foreshadowed!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Please review/fill me in on any spelling mistakes!
> 
> -OctaviaVectorr


	10. The Confession to Friends

_Three Months Ago_

Kevin sat at a table in one of the local diners, two seats empty as he waited for his best friends to arrive. All the while he was stressing out about his current thoughts. Things had become complicated rather quickly when he entered his junior year.

His foot tapped on the ground repeatedly to a non-existent beat he heard in his head. Where the hell were his friends? He told them to meet him at two p.m.  _sharp_. And that this was  _urgent_. Damn, what could they be doing right now?

He checked his phone, his eyebrows raising at a new message from his blonde friend. Quickly, he unlocked his phone and opened the message.

**kev, we're so sorry we're late! we got into a conversation with one of the football members, u know, brad? he had a question for us so yeah. we're almost there tho!**

After reading the message, he leaned back against the chair and sighed. Fantastic. He could see that Nazz was most likely lying about them almost being here. How long was he going to sit here and just  _wait_?

He glanced at his phone again; it was 2:03 now. If they arrived any later than 2:10 he would probably flip. It felt as if they were just  _trying_  to blow him off so he could get ticked about it. What a great pair of friends they are.

A waitress came over with a small smile at him.

"Hey there, sweetie! How may I help you today?" She asked, placing a menu down in front of him.

Kevin pursed his lips. Since his two best friends had yet to arrive, he couldn't start ordering anything yet. Maybe he could at least get some water to calm his nerves from getting aggravated about their tardiness. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea right now.

"I'll just have a water, please."

The waitress nodded in response with a "sure thing!" and he mumbled a quiet thank you in response.

He laid his head back, trying to focus on why he had even called his friends to meet him here in the first place. Of course, it was all for that dumb dork he knew from his childhood days. And he still knows him now, of course, since the kid lives right across the street from him. Shit, they were so close yet he felt as if they were completely far apart. Their interests were so different and they were in two different cliques, yet he felt so dumbly and strangely attracted to that dweeb.

Edd was into science and math and he actually  _enjoyed_  school. Kevin, on the other hand, well, he liked to play baseball and football. He liked partying and having a good time with his friends. And his "good time" was probably different than what Edd did with his two dorko friends. At least, he assumed it would be; the smart boy was completely conservative and didn't seem like he'd be outgoing enough to do anything considered "bad." Then again, how would he know? He hardly talked to him anymore. But damn, he had a lot of determination to change that.

After thinking about it, he decided to take a look at the menu and get a head start on his order. His choice would probably end up being a cheeseburger; he wasn't that hungry for anything else they had, plus, he liked this diner's burgers.

When the waitress arrived with Kevin's water, so did his friends. They sat down and the waitress took their drink orders.

"Sorry we're late, Kev! I mean I texted you what happened but yeah I just wanted to say that again. I know this was an important meeting and we're here late which is really crappy of us but let's get to this little talk you needed to have with us!" As the girl spoke, Kevin took another look at his phone (2:08) before his eyes wandered back up to the blonde beauty in front of him. He wondered why he wasn't attracted to her like everyone expected him to be.

Nat chuckled with a smile. "Off in La-la land again, muchacho? C'mon, dude, stop starin' at Nazz and speak. I know she's a beauty but didn't you have some crucial shit to tell us?"

The ginger nodded. "Yeah, uh, sorry. But uh, that's kind of exactly what I wanted to talk about," he said slowly, glancing at both of his friends.

"What, that you're in love with Nazz? Man I'm sure she's flattered but why am I here to witness this? Unless," he began, grin on his face widening. "You're gonna propose and you want me to be the best man?! Oh, Kev, I thought you'd never ask!" Nat threw his hands up, his face full of glee.

People had turned to stare and both the blonde and the football captain were blushing. Nat, of course, felt no shame in what he just did, as he was still grinning triumphantly and his hands were in the air.

"Nat, shut the hell up, would you? That's not what this is! Hell, hardly close to what this is! It has to do with someone else, okay?" He said in a hushed whisper, biting his bottom lip. Nat put his hands down and instead put them under his chin as he listened in.

Nazz clapped her hands together as the waitress came back to take their orders. Quickly, she spoke to her. "Sorry, we aren't ready yet. Could you give us a few minutes please?" After the lady had left, she began to talk again. "Soooo, do tell Kev! Who's the lucky girl, huh? Is she on the cheerleading team? Or, like, do I know her at all?"

" _Shit_ ,  _there it is_."

"Uh, Nazz, ya see. It's not a girl I'm interested in." He looked at both of them and watched their faces pale in realization. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, guys. I'm gay, alright? Whoop dee doo, captain of the football team likes dick. Can you please not gawk at me anymore?"

The blonde bit her lip, which at first Kevin wasn't sure why until the mouth turned up in a wide grin. She stood up and went around to hug her friend, moving him back and forth as she kissed his cheek before sitting down again.

"Oh, Kev! I'm so happy! I mean honestly I had been expecting this for a couple of months now but I figured that you were so far in the closet you would need a flashlight to get out or something! But I guess you don't since you seem to have found the light! Who showed you, huh?"

Nat put a hand over Kevin's mouth before he could answer.

"Wait, wait! So since you're into dudes, does that mean we could totally be friends with benefits and fuck each other in the butt and stuff? 'Cause you know I'm like so down for that, man. In fact, I'd like be down on you, if you get what I'm sayin' here," the teal-haired boy winked as his friend, who grimaced in response.

"First off,  _ew_ , Nat! Hell no! Second off, haha, very funny, Nazz. Listen, what I'm about to say is going to sound so ridiculous though, okay? And I mean that mainly to Nazz, since I don't think Nat knows him too well, or, at all, even."

As the two friends intensely stared at him and waited for his answer, they saw the waitress coming over again.

Kevin cursed under his breath at this and looked up at his friends.

"You guys ready to just order whatever? I think I know what I want. I was looking at the menu before you guys came, so," he shrugged, and the two friends shrugged back.

The three placed down orders, Nazz wasn't completely satisfied with her choice (Caesar Salad), but it would have to do. And Nat could just about eat anything the diner had so he wasn't too picky about the random order he said.

Once the waitress was off with their orders and menus, Kevin continued with where he left off.

"Okay, so, uh," he paused for a moment, unsure how to say it. It was simple, honestly, but he thought Nazz would think he was totally lame for having a crush on the  _dweeb_. Shit, though, he couldn't help it. He opened his mouth to continue, "I think I got a crush on Double Dork, Nazz."

A tiny gasp was heard as the girl placed her hands over her mouth. She smiled behind them and continued to after she uncovered her mouth.

"Oh my gosh, Kev! That's so great! Well, kind of. You two would look sooo incredibly cute together! I can picture it right now!" She made a camera shape with her fingers and grinned with her image of Eddward sitting right beside Kevin, the two of them holding hands.

Nat shook his head and moved back, lost. "Wait, wait, who is this Double whatever guy you're talkin' about?" He asked, shaking his hands. "Did you say it was Double  _D_? Because, shit, if he has two dicks I'd be all for that, man. I didn't think you'd be the type, though. But, hey! I don't judge anyone. To each their own," he said, leaning back and grinning. "But for real, who is this guy?"

Kevin opened his mouth to explain, but Nazz beat him to it.

"Double D, or Eddward Vincent, is one of our childhood cul-de-sac buddies! At least, one of mine. I know he and Kev talked quite a bit though, or more so than he ever said to Eddy or Ed. Eddy and Ed are Double D's best friends, and they're pretty much inseparable, just like us! And, like, Eddward is this super smart guy who's in all honors and AP classes! It's totally rad how much stuff he has in that brain. So, yeah, he's pretty cool! I think he'd pair well with Kev, too, to be honest. They're so different, and Edd is always willing to accept people and learn new things, so I think he'd be so fantasticly great with you," she said, smiling at her friend.

The ginger shook his head. "Nazz, I think you're forgetting something essential. Double Dweeb might not be gay. And if he isn't then this whole thing goes to fucking ruins and I look like an idiot," he said, sighing and looking at the girl with his eyebrows up.

She shook her head. "Oh, relax, Kev! Edd doesn't seem like he's completely into girls, okay? I have first period with him, and, yeah, it's creepy, but just by the way he  _is_ , I think he may have found out who he really is. Now, before one of you hounds on me, I know gay people don't  _look_  a certain way, but it's just one of those senses, you know? I mean, Kevin doesn't look gay, but I could tell he was by how he acted. And I mean mainly with females and how he handled them. Like, Edd isn't that shy around me anymore! He always used to stutter but now he just talks to me normally, which could be just self-improvement, but I just get a different vibe, you guys get me?"

"Yes, yes, Nazz, we get you. Please, we aren't going to hound on you for anything. I get what you're saying, and I think Nat does. But he might be so far off in fucking space that maybe he isn't even translating a single word I'm saying."

Nat laughed. "I hear you guys loud and clear. This is just a lot of stuff to take in, man. But, hey, I know what you're sayin' Nazz, and if I was to ever meet this guy, I'm sure he'd be perfectly fine with our amigo Kev over here. So, what interested you about him, hmm?"

The ginger shrugged. "I dunno. He's just nice and shit and cute and whatever-the-fuck okay? I'm not good at this shit. I'm still trying to find out why I like him, and I've been thinking about this for a good week. Hell, I don't know if I'll ever be able to pinpoint what it is that attracts me to him. I just feel like he's such a great guy and all that mushy crap that people say, but," a short pause, "I just wonder if maybe I'm not right for him. Like I'm a jock and he's a dork; why the hell would we ever socialize, let alone be  _dating_? Especially two  _boys_. I don't even know if our school looks down on that considering that you fuck anyone in the ass, Nat, but even still, it just seems awkward."

Nazz pursed her lips. "If it's awkward then how could you have feelings for him? Or, better yet, it shouldn't feel awkward if you have feelings for him. Do you see him throughout the day at all?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, we share the same lunch period, I think. I sit in the other cafeteria, though. But, listen, I just, I don't know if what I'm feeling is true."

The blonde rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "Kev, just let it flow naturally right now, yeah? Don't stress about it and things will turn out okay. But, I mean, if you get the chance to make a move on him, please go right ahead and make that move, okay? There's no reason to miss out on dating someone you like; you're in high school and life is short. Let's have a good time! But, not too much of a good time," she said with a giggle.

Nat waved his hand. "Psssh, Nazz, when have we  _ever_  gotten into trouble with the fun we have? Besides, it isn't that bad. A little drink here and maybe one there and that's all there is to it. I don't smoke, and neither do you guys. I'm startin' to think that Ryan might be, though. Not an avid one, but hey, ya never know, am I right? I'm right," he said with a grin, looking from one friend to the other.

Kevin snorted. "Yeah, okay, whatever you like to think, Nat. Edd isn't that kind of person, either. Like, he wouldn't ever do risky shit like that. His parents don't even live in the house with him, but he sweeps and mops and cleans every day, or I assume he does, cause if he looks as clean on the inside as it does on the outside then that's proof of it. He doesn't party or even stay up late or whatever. I think his lights go off at like, maybe, ten each night? On the dot, too. He's this super tidy neat freak and owns a bunch of insects and plants. I don't know what he wants to be when he grows up, but I think he'll be pretty damn good at it."

When he finished, both the blonde and teal-haired boy had their eyes locked on him with smirks spread across their face.

The ginger scoffed. "Listen, I live across the street from him, okay? I'm not some creepy ass stalker; I just happen to notice things! People can do that, can't they?"

Nazz nodded. "Why, of course, Kevin. Just like how you have a character quirk where you fidget nonstop when you get all worked up or nervous. You're doing it right now, in fact."

Kevin didn't even notice that he was tapping his foot and that his hands had been doing all sorts of things (he cracked his knuckles, pressed down on individual fingernails, tapped his fingers against his leg, etc.) while in the middle of this conversation. Damn, Nazz always had to be right about something. That was one of the things he loved most about her though.

"Yeah, alright, Nazz, I get what you're trying to say. I'm just really stressed about this whole thing. About him maybe not liking me back or what if my feelings are fake and what if I get into a relationship with him and I just hurt his feelings and fuck things up and like everyone hates me or something?"

Nazz and Nat each laughed at the same time, much to Kevin's surprise and anger.

"What?! What are you guys laughing at? This is serious to me, you guys."

Nat shook his head. "Man, everyone hating you? Dude, this is  _high school_ , where people do shit and when they fuck up most people don't even bat an eyelash. Plus, we're still here for you no matter what. You know that, don't you?"

The cheerleader captain nodded. "In addition to that, the only reason why  _I_ would stop talking to you is if you hurt Double D's feelings, like, completely and ruin him or something. He's such a sweet guy and you and I both know he deserves the best."

"Which is exactly why I'm stressed! I don't want to mess shit up with him and then he gets upset because the last thing I want is for him to be crying or whatever over something that my dumb self did. That just isn't right or fair for him."

Nazz nodded. "Yeah, I know, Kev. But if you're going to get into a relationship with him, if it's at all possible, you need to understand that sometimes you fight in relationships. Things can't be perfect without flaws, and those flaws would be the little arguments you would have, with, well, anybody. It could be either me or Nat, your dad, or Edd, if you two begin dating. If you guys want the relationship to be as good as it can possibly be, you have to end up fighting with each other at least once or something. When you fight with someone, it shows how much you care about them. And trust me, it means more in the end than you think it would, so long as you can work it out with whoever you're fighting with. So just chill out, yeah? No need to stress too much over these things; it's the beginning of the year. The only time you stress out is during finals, and those aren't for a while."

Kevin took in all of Nazz's wise words because, damn, that girl had knowledge in her that he didn't even know she possessed. It was amazing what could be hidden under people when a certain event happens that causes them to reveal something secret about themselves. Nazz was just such a fantastic friend to him, and he probably couldn't be more thankful than he was right now to have her.

Nat smiled. "Well, this was a nice education session we had. And look, here comes our delicious food!" He sat up and rubbed his hands together. "I hope you guys are ready to munch on some grub, 'cause damn I am so hungry right now."

Nazz giggled. "That salad looks sooo good," she said as the food was placed down in front of all of them. "I can't wait to dig into this stuff!"

"Yeah, same here," Kevin said, smiling at his two friends.

Shit, he was so happy to have them here. They were probably the best people he could ever ask for.


	11. A Bad Turn

The rest of the night went smoothly; Ed, thankfully, did  _not_  finish all of the food, to which Edd awarded him by promising to allow his choice of movies for the night despite it being the smarter's turn.

" _Anything to keep my boisterous friend content_."

Double D knew Ed loved to watch the fictional movies about monsters and space with superheroes saving the day. And being the good friend he was, he did not object to any of the movies, despite how surprisingly gruesome they could be at times. If Ed was to perhaps get rejected and/or spend a prolonged time without watching one, well, he knew it could be a terrible occurrence, and it was tedious to calm the boy down again.

So, after they had finished their food, the trio watched around three and a half movies before collapsing on top of their small pillow and blanket fort to sleep.

* * *

When the sounds of chirping began at dawn, Eddward was the first one up. Eddy had fallen asleep on top of him, and, of course, was clinging to his side. This wasn't a surprise, nor was it the first time that this had happened. Like any other time, Edd slyly slipped out of his grasp, careful not to wake either of the two.

After exiting the room quietly, he came upon Eddy's older brother right outside of the open front door, smoking. He did not want to make a peep in order to not disrupt him, but it would be rude for him to not even mumble a hello.

"G-good morning, Mr. Eddy's brother." His voice was small, so that way just in case his words could be unheard. If the older man was to ask him about his presence after he was done, at least he would have a good excuse for it.

However, his words did not fall deaf upon the high school grad's ears.

The man turned around, raising an eyebrow with a curious look in his eyes. When he realized who it was, the eyebrow went down and his face seemed to relax in a way. It was actually a bit strange to the genius that he didn't stay tense or have some sort of grin on his face.

"Mornin'," the older mumbled, keeping his eyes on the dork.

Edd desperately tried to leave it at that. He didn't want to converse with him much more out of fear that something in the conversation would most likely go wrong and it would end in flames. Perhaps literally, being that there was a kettle on the stove for coffee (in all honesty, he loved that Eddy's family still used one; it was so rare to see one, and since the boy himself didn't drink coffee it was nice knowing others still had them).

The brother of the short friend tossed his cigarette on the ground, crushing it with his foot before stepping back inside and closing the door behind him.

"So," he began as he walked over to the kettle, the geek standing several feet away, daring not to move a muscle. "Why are ya up so early?"

The hat-wearing boy perked up. "Well, you s-see, Mr. Eddy's brother, I get up very early in the mornings and sleep early at night. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!" He said, chuckling nervously afterwards. He did not want to seem unfriendly in any way currently.

In response to these words, the taller scoffed, turning off the fire and grabbing a mug from a nearby cabinet.

"That shit is bullshit, just saying." Edd was about to protest (in a kind manner, of course!) but the grad continued to speak. "So you and my brother ain't a thing, huh?"

The way the sentence was spoken sent bad chills down the boy's spine. It seemed like it was full of malice, like he was somehow  _angry_  that they were not together. However, he found that to be astonishingly puzzling. Was he not upset that Eddy (was, in reality) had the possibility of being into males rather than females only a mere several hours ago?

"Ay, you gonna answer me or what?" Now, Eddy's brother's voice was a bit more aggressive, which frightened Edd.

Oh curse him and his spacing off! He had really done it now! There was no way of getting out of this apparent fury.

He tried to shrink to make himself smaller, clearly displaying submissiveness.

"W-well, y-you see, E-Eddy and I-I are n-not together. We are ju-ust very good f-friends."

And now he was stuttering, which more than likely made his predicament even worse, if he had to bet. Ah, what a fool he was! If only he didn't get sidetracked all the time! Maybe then he would have better luck with all of the things that happened to him.

"That's bullshit, yeah? My bro's a fag, and it ain't right that you're makin' up these lies." The brother was leaning over him at this point, his voice growing dark and quiet. "Now, if you tell me the truth, I won't hafta make your life a livin' hell, ya hear? So why don't ya just tell me the truth about the two of ya? The only one who will be punished will be my brother, so don't ya sweat it, okay? All ya gotta do is just tell me one lil' thing," he paused. Then firmly said, "Is. My. Brother. A fag?"

Double D shook his head, continuing to insist that there was no way that Eddy would be attracted towards other males, despite the fact that he did know that what his brother was strongly insisting to be true.

But how could he ruin the camaraderie between him and Eddy!? It would be most unfortunate for him to have to get hurt for this when Edd should take all of the damage. He quite clearly angered the older teen by taking up his little brother's time. However, if he didn't Eddy would be in more trouble than he is now!

The younger boy pulled his hat down and shrunk himself, really not wanting to appear, in any way, dominant. Why, oh why must this happen?

He knew he needed to answer the question soon, but he was nervous about the consequences. Should he perhaps commit a red herring, or should he be straight-forward about the situation?

"Mr. Eddy's brother, I would like to inform you that, as a close friend of Eddy's, I cannot tell you his sexuality for such a thing is confidential. B-but, um, if you wi-ish, a-assuming there is an-anger within you, you m-may take it out on," he took a deep breath before saying the last word, "me."

Edd closed his eyes and covered his face with his arms, waiting for the blow, which, despite his prayers, did come. It took a moment, yes, but there was no doubt about the sharp pain he felt when a fist connected with his abdomen.

He fell to his knees, gripping it and coughing desperately. The feeling stung like nothing he had ever felt, perhaps worse than the one time he was stung by a bee in elementary school. However, there wasn't much time to reflect on it before a kick to his face came, knocking him onto his side, still holding onto his stomach

Then there were continuous kicks to his abdomen, which he desperately tried to block with his hands but eventually those hurt too and he had to move them somewhere else so they wouldn't be more abused than they already were.

"Fuck! You! And! Fuck! My! Faggot! Brother!" The older teen seemed like he screaming because it was so quiet, but Edd could tell that, in reality, the boy was not actually as loud as he had thought; even the sound of the kicks against him didn't block out the horrid words.

Oh how could his friends not hear what was going on? He would have called it absurd if he were to cry out and there was still no reaction? But of course he couldn't yell for help; all of his energy was being saved to find it in himself to get up once the man had ceased beating him. If he ever did, that was.

A few cries of pain had escaped the scholar's mouth, but there was nothing passed that. Eddy's brother surprising did not yell anything else to him, however every strike of torment made it feel like those were the screams coming from the brother.

Edd could tell it was over when there was one hard last blow, this time to his face.

It was more painful than anything he had ever experienced. And oh how he could feel the blood beginning to pour out of his nose and the ache that his eye was currently feeling. He knew that he would surely be in for it if anyone found out about this mishap; which meant that he just might have to miss out on several days of school in order for these wounds to heal.

He would do anything to have the future marks disappear within just the remaining hours of the day, but alas, that would be impossible, as they probably have not even had time to form. Oh, he couldn't go to school like this! Not with a bruised eye and most likely a scratched up face for the whole school body to see. No sir. And, of course, there was his beloved (completely not beloved; that was utter sarcasm in all ways possible) class of physical education. By God, if he had to suffer in the changing room, feeling like all eyes were on him as he prepared himself for the exhausting gym class, he would lose it for sure. Everyone would know, and that certainly would cause some sort of ruckus, especially between him and his friends. When the other boys in the locker room saw the bruises, it was highly likely that word would spread like wildfire. Then, this meant that his friends would hear it, and that is where a plethora of difficulties would occur.

No. He could not attend school until he was completely healed.

So, with a silent groan, he watched as Eddy's brother had been breathing over him with a malicious look on his face. As far as he was aware, no words had yet left either of their mouths, for which Edd felt blessed about. Eddy's brother merely glared at him for another minute longer, before he parted his lips to say,

"Leave. Grab your  _fucking shit_  and  _fucking go_. I can't have mom and dad knowing about this. Or my  _precious_  little gay-ass fucking brother. So  _go_." He turned around, and Edd saw him walking to where the mop was, most likely to clean up this mess, when he stopped in his tracks. "And if you tell  _anyone_  about this, your sorry little ass will be sorry. Don't tell anyone, and you're good to fucking go, yeah?" He still had that evil look on his face, his eyes locked with the teen.

Somehow, he managed to spit out, albeit weakly, as he got up, "Y-yes, of co-course. I have no one to tell a-anyways." The scholar's voice was tired and quiet as felt pain rushing through his whole body as he tried desperately to stand up. Thankfully, he said no more words and turned back around. Meanwhile, he slowly headed over to Eddy's room to quietly grab his things, hoping neither of them would be awake to see he in such a distressed state.

Luckily, they were sound asleep. This led to him silently gathering his things up, and then writing a letter to Eddy that there were things that came up for school that he remembered. He said how he was dearly sorry but that somehow there was a project he forgot he had to finish for his English class, and that he would do anything to be able to stay longer. This would have been the rest of it, but he wanted to make sure that Eddy was in a perfect health, so he also wrote that it would be best if he tried to spend the rest of his Sunday with Ed, since he could no longer spend it with him.

Reading it over, he sighed. Lying to his friend like this. How incredibly awful. There was nothing he could do, though, so he put it on the door before opening it, his stuff all in his bag, before closing it behind him.

There was just a little limp in his walk as he passed by the older brother of Eddy, trying to keep his distance and not make any contact as he left the house, desperately not wanting another bad encounter. An angel must have heard him, because not a single word was said to him as he left, which was like a complete blessing in his eyes. Even though he wasn't necessarily religious, he was truly thankful to, quite literally, every single God for this.

* * *

When Edd returned home, he immediately dropped his bag and headed right for the bathroom. Although, that was on the second floor, which meant trouble. And it was proven, because as he began getting up the stairs, it already was proving to be tough. His legs felt weak and it seemed as if he could collapse at any second.

He trekked on, however, despite having to go on his knees and finish climbing the last four stairs, much to his dismay. He sought himself to be pathetic with this action. If someone were to walk in and see him in this state, it was so embarrassing he wouldn't think he could live with himself afterwards. But he knew there was nothing he could to  _not_  do this, as his body was intensely sore, and the feeling only increased.

" _Oh Lord, I hope no one tries to visit my house today_. _That would certainly not go well_."

When he reached the bathroom, the thought of a change of clothes passed his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to care for that at the moment. What was the point of trying to get clothes right now when that would not help to heal him? Plus, he was alone in the house so there was no reason.

As he stepped inside the bathroom, he bent down (very, very slowly) to confirm that they did still have a first-aid kit handy. He opened it, making a mental check off that they had bandages, band-aids, cleaning solutions (numerous ones depending on the situation), and even wipes to clean off any dry blood or things of the like. All very useful things, which he was thankful for.

He stood up hesitantly, being cautious as to not cause himself any extra pain which was definitely unnecessary. He placed the kit on the far end of the sink so it wouldn't get wet (despite it being closed) and turned around to turn on the shower. While it would sting, he would need a hot shower in order for the best cleaning, as cold water did not suffice for that.

Now, he just had to scrub away all of the dirt he earned from the beating. He mentally cursed at Eddy's brother for putting him in such a filthy state, but if he were to be true, it was unquestionably worth not letting Eddy have to take the damage for something that should not be a problem in the first place. Why was his brother so enforcing of his sexuality? While it would seem peculiar to anyone else, Edd figured that it was probably since Eddy had all of those playboy magazines from his brother.

He wet his hair, grabbing the shampoo and putting some in his hand before putting it back down and scrubbing his hair diligently. It felt refreshing to have his hair clean. After he got the shampoo out, reached for the conditioner bottle they had and repeated the action. For some reason, he loved the feeling of having his hair soft; it was nice to comb his fingers through.

As the scholar finished his focus on cleaning his hair (and began to clean his body carefully), he went over his thoughts about Eddy's attitude, personality, hobbies, items he held as prized possessions and other things of the like. His friend had a crush on Nazz for quite a long amount of time, but was that perhaps because he had grown up with all of those inappropriate magazines at the touch of a finger? Or did he maybe have real feelings for her? Edd was well aware of his friend's current feelings for him, and while he found it sweet, he honestly did not believe that he could reciprocate the crush. It was just a simple matter of preference and that he would hate to destroy their beloved friendship. Although, if it were to come up that he and his short friend were to eventually share such feelings, then he would not object to it, so long as they would be okay after.

Alright, now he was getting off track. But it couldn't be helped. Was Eddy perhaps bisexual? If he was, Edd still wouldn't mind either way; they were friends, and as long as he was nice to him, that was all that mattered. Sexuality and gender never really applied to a state of urgency in friendships, as he was never really open with many people about himself. His gender was not different than his birth, but yes, he was sure that he was very much into boys. Nazz was a gorgeous girl, sweet and outgoing, but as hard as the teen tried, he could never be interested in her like  _that_. Besides, he was completely sure that Kevin was with her anyways, and was positively a better choice for her than he would ever be.

" _Now that I think about Kevin_..  _Oh dear_.  _What am I do now_?  _Surely these wounds will heal within the week_ ,  _and I will be able to fulfill my duty of accompanying him in wherever he wishes go_."

He continued to try to be hopeful about the upcoming hangout they were to have this weekend as he finished washing the soap off his body. It stung, yes, but that would happen to deep cuts, and Edd was simply thankful that it wasn't worse than it was currently. Once they had been treated, he was sure that they would feel much better about being washed.

He turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel to pat himself dry. After that was done, he placed it on the toilet and sat down, reaching for the first-aid kit. Then, he opened it and began to put on cleaning solutions first for healing (even though he hissed in pain at the feeling of burning) and then covered any wounds with bandages or band-aids, depending on the size of the wound and where it was.

When this was done and dealt with, he put the kit back under the sink, tossing his clothes and the towel in the laundry basket to be cleaned for later.

While he was well aware of him being alone in the room, he couldn't help but slowly and quietly make his way to his room, merely double-checking to assure that no one would pop out and scare him while he was unclothed.

A tiny sigh left his mouth as he stepped into his room. Right now, sleep sounded like a blissful experience that wanted to wrap its arms around him, and Edd would completely comply with it without hesitation.

But, he would really feel comfortable to get into nice, clean and comfortable clothes first. Which was the first action he did. So, he went over to his dresser, opening several dressers to retrieve a pair of boxers, a large shirt and a pair of pajama pants to sleep in. Carefully he slipped them all on, being weary to not mess up any of the bandages or to reopen the wounds. That would be a tedious action he would not wish to repeat.

Once everything was on him safely and he remained unhurt, he was just about to climb into bed when the doorbell to his house rang loudly through his abode.

" _Who could possibly be here at this hour_?"

He checked the time, realizing that it was already around nine in the morning, which was a bit early, but it was most definitely not unnatural for people to be awake. However, why would someone be here?

Edd slowly began going down the stairs, feeling a bit uncomfortable having been dressed in pajamas rather than suitable attire for speaking with someone. He would have to say sorry to whoever was at the door for his presentation.

When he finished the last step and walked to the door, he attempted to look through the hole, but it hurt too much to do so, and he ended up making a quiet groan from the action. He settled for just being surprised at who was there when he opened the door. But goodness, he was in such a bad shape. Hopefully there would be no notice to his current state if he stayed hidden behind the door. The black eye was on his left eye, so if he opened it only slightly, they wouldn't see it.

With those thoughts in mind, he slowly pulled the door open a smidge. To his surprise, his blue-haired friend was waiting on the other side.

She was dressed in a faded green t-shirt (though it appeared she cut the sleeves to make it one) with a lightning bolt on it with baggy dark blue jeans and a belt to keep it up. By the way she was dressed, it seemed to Edd that perhaps she planned on coming in, which was not what he intended on.

"U-um, good morning, Marie," he said slowly. Why would she be here so early in the morning?

The female nodded her head up in greeting. "Sup, Double D? You care to let me in?"

Said male coughed awkwardly. He chuckled nervously as he said, "Y-you see, Marie, I cannot let you in because, um, I am not fully dressed, and it wouldn't be appropriate for your entry. I apologize for any inconvenience."

Marie snorted and rolled her eyes, much to Edd's surprise. He was about to question her reasoning for such actions when she began to speak again.

"Double D, I know you like the back of my hand. Well, that, and I see your pajama pants. Why are you hiding behind the door? What's up, dude? You know you can tell me everything," she said slowly. Her face had a look of worry on it, which the male mentally cursed in his head. Of course she would be upset over his refusal of opening the door.

He sighed. "Marie, I've just," he paused, gathering his words carefully before looking his best friend in the eye. She looked oh so concerned, much to his dismay. The last he wanted was to upset her. He pursed his lips, continuing. "I've had a very deplorable morning, and I am afraid you would not be able to fathom what has happened to me. I do not wish to hurt you or cause you any stress, but for you to come in, that would," he sighed, looking down for a moment and then letting his eyes wander to her's again, "cause quite a ruckus, I do believe," he added with a small, sad smile.

The blue-haired teen shook her head at the ground before returning her gaze to her friend. "Man, you can't just say that shit and not tell me what's going on. Let me in, Double D. We can talk about this, right? It can't possibly be that crappy that you're just going to hide it from me. I'm sure there's a way that I can help you with what's going on, yeah?"

Edd hesitated, not sure if he should. It was certainly not that he didn't trust her, because if there was someone he would give his life to, it would be her. However, if she were to find out what occurred whilst he was at Eddy's..

Oh fudge bars! There was no way he could send her away or have her cease pestering him. He might as well let her in and tell her about what his beloved friend's brother did to him. The only thing that was currently holding him back was the fear of his brother finding out that he was spreading what he was ordered not to.

His legs locked up and he bit his bottom lip, desperately trying to not look at his friend. Oh dear, it would  _not_  be pleasant at  _all_  if Eddy's brother were to hear about his actions being talked about. No, no, no, no. He couldn't tell. If he did, he would be in a copious, hideous, amount of trouble that he preferred to not be involved in.

Words were being said to him, but he couldn't hear them as he was so sucked into his thoughts. His only guess of the possession of the voice was Marie, who had now opened the door and was trying to shake him from said thoughts. But he was so far gone in the fact that now he would have to tell, and now he had no way of escaping from the older teen's most definite wrath at his choice of actions for speaking the words that were meant to be kept unsaid.

He felt himself shaking, not by the female's hands but rather by his own body. He was just so terrified that he could not even stand still. Oh, goodness, what would Eddy and Ed think of him for being such a chicken? They would see how pathetic he was and most likely find his brother to be in the right for kicking him! That would be their thoughts, yes, and Marie would most likely think the same thing of him if he were to tell her, which is exactly why he could not.

His legs unlocked, and he felt himself drop to the floor, hands over his eyes as he began to cry. Wonderful, now he  _honestly_  looked the part for being pathetic. He certainly felt so.

The white noise of Marie's voice was not becoming clear, as much as he wanted it to. It was as if his mind was purposely trying to ignore it as to not have her know what was going on. That maybe, just maybe, if he were to continue staying here on his knees just  _crying_ , she would eventually leave him and forget about him. It was undeniably the thoughts that were running through Edd's head, and he was upset that she hadn't left yet.

" _Oh why_ ,  _Marie_?  _Why must you continue to stay here when we both already know what you feel for me_?  _I am pathetic and weak_.  _There is no reason for you to continue to be here_.  _You would only end up leaving later on anyways_."

As his thoughts continued to consume him, he laid down on the ground, curling up and continuing to cry. However, he felt his head being moved onto a comfortable place which he assumed to be Marie's lap. He was so grateful for her. So grateful that she continued to stay here, the sound of her voice coming to a hush silence which he began to try to pull apart into words.

"It's okay, Edd. There's no need to cry. You're okay. Shh, shh. You're okay. I promise, okay? You're okay."

Those words were repeated as if it were her mantra, and oh how he figured it just should be with the situation they were in currently.

Edd was so content and felt  _safe_  even just by laying on her lap, despite that tears were still coming out his eyes and his nose continued to sniffle, along with quiet hiccups leaving his mouth. He knew he felt content and safe, because he found himself, several minutes later, feeling tired and drifting off to sleep on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Read and Review! ♥
> 
> -OctaviaVectorr


	12. Explaining the Situation

Edd awoke, what he believed was, not too long after he fell asleep. He realized that he had been moved into his bed now. But who was it that moved him there? And where was that person now? Did they leave or were they still here?

Numerous questions filled his head as he put a finger on his chin, trying to answer each one of them silently.

Ah! How could he forget? His dear friend Marie had come to visit him earlier for some reason.

And, he had fallen asleep on her lap. Crying, gosh darn it.

Oh goodness! Now he felt a true fool. He had completely shown himself to her! And, oh dear, the probability of her having seen what was done to him was undeniable. She had to have! But that was what he trying to hide in the first place! At this moment, Edd would give  _anything_ , really, honestly,  _anything_  in the world for the female to avoid striking up conversation about the bruised eye and, if she looked, other bandages he had strewn about his body from the kicking and punching.

Now he had to answer his second and third question; where was she?

First, the raven-haired boy reached for his hat that was on the nightstand next to his bed. He was thankful that his friend had taken his hat off so it would not be ruined while he slept. It was a warm enough thought, if only for a moment, at most, that it brought a tiny smile to his face. Her looking after to him was something he truly treasure more than anything else.

But there was no time to continue dwelling on his wondrous friendship that blossomed between him and his past tormentor, he had to leave his bed and locate her whereabouts.

It was a bit hard, but the scholar managed to sit up, albeit slowly, and take the covers off of him. He was certainly comfortable laying down, but he couldn't let Marie be in her own thoughts if she  _had_  seen the bandages. God forbid she goes around telling the police or even  _Eddy_ and  _Ed_ about the injuries.

That was all the motivation Edd needed to get out of bed and make his way downstairs. He did not rush, being that he reminded himself that if he  _opened up those stitches gosh darn it Marie would_   _not be happy_.

His eyes rested upon the sight of the blue-haired female cooking away. There appeared to be bacon in the microwave, eggs on a frying pan, toast in the toaster, and oh dear, was that pancakes he smelled?

The scent lead him beside her, although he was quite hesitant about it. She had no qualms about noticing him.

"Glad to see you've finally woken up. It's only eleven, but you were out like a light," she said with a tiny grin, glancing his way.

The boy couldn't exactly read her emotions; was she going to bring up the bruised eye? He assumed that even if she didn't see then she could certainly see it now. Which, well, that wouldn't be his happiest moment but it was something that could not be helped.

"U-um, thank you, for t-taking me to my room I mean. I apologise dearly for being quite the nuisance earlier this morning. I-I just, there was something that happened, something bad, Marie, I just," he began breathing heavily, very scared about continuing, but thankfully, he did not need to, because arms were wrapped around him and he was pulled into a tight-but-not-that-tight hug from the female.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, both of them waiting for Edd's anxiety to wear out before they released one another.

"Edd," she said slowly, "I get it. Something horrific happened. I see it in what happened to your eye," she reached up to put her thumb over it, the other teen only wincing slightly at the touch. She removed her thumb to instead place a kiss to the eye before continuing, "I, God, um. I  _know_  you don't want to tell me what happened. But, I, really, Edd, I can't just see you like this and let it be. As a friend, it wouldn't be fair to you. I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable place, which I know I am, but you can't hide this. Not after I saw the eye. You have to let me in, Edd. You've done it a plethora of times already, but this time it's different, and you know that. Other things, they were," she sighed, "they were emotional problems. But this, Edd," she grabbed his wrists gently, her voice reaching a very hushed tone, as if people were listening in and she was afraid they would hear, " _this_  is  _physical_ , Edd." The worried tone in her voice matched perfectly with the worried look that appeared on her face, as opposed to the almost stoic one she had when he first came down. "You gotta tell me what's goin' on, Edd. Who did this to you?"

He bit his bottom lip, not comfortable in voicing a single word. Of course he trusted Marie! More than anyone! But he could not find it within himself to tell her who had wronged him and hurt him in such a cruel way.

Marie was quick to realize this, as she had a downcast look on her face. She pulled away, deciding to continue with the breakfast she was making.

The scholar looked at her, opening his mouth, hoping to find words to at least tell her that he was sorry.

But nothing would come out. It was like everything he had planned to say and she would say back, the jouska he had, was all gone. He desperately wanted to hold her, crying and sniffling about how Eddy's brother had hit him and hurt him and made him so, to put it simply, pathetic. But nothing was happening. All he was doing was staring at her, watching her cook with a crestfallen expression.

He slowly, shakily reached out to her to grab her attention, which, thank goodness, he had immediately. He looked her in the eye, feeling the opia of the situation before speaking."I," he began, his voice in a whisper, "C-can we eat, f-first? I," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice and find the right words to say. When he found composure, his reopened his eyes. "I honestly, truly, really do trust you, Marie. I-I mean that. More than any-anything," he said, silently cursing himself for still stuttering. "I believe that, perhaps I just need a moment to think about things. Could we, m-maybe, speak about this afterwards?"

It took a second, only one, but Marie nodded, seeming to completely understand what it was that Edd wanted.

"Of course, Edd. Let me finish this before it gets burnt though, alright?" She asked, a grin on her face which, of course, successfully put a matching one right on the male's face.

The boy nodded silently and walked over to the island across from the stove, which already a bowl full of fruit on it and a few chairs around it, although there was usually only him in the house, so he found the extra chairs to be useless. Yes, he did have company here (Ed, Eddy, and sometimes Marie, who enjoyed showing up spontaneously, as she had done today), but if he were to be honest with himself, he and his friends rarely spent time here.

Several minutes passed in silence as Marie finished up her cooking of the breakfast meal, and she put the four different foods on their own plate, stacked on top of the other; bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and about four pancakes.

Edd was surprised, if he were to admit it. While he did see her cooking them, he didn't see her as the one to cook, or her to make more than a typical pancake. He looked at her as she placed his plate, fork, and knife in front of him, smiling at her when he caught her eye. She smiled back.

The two picked at the food and took their time eating in silence. Edd had averted his eyes for the most part, but there were times when he caught Marie looking at him. If he were to be true, he couldn't blame her. She was so worried and curious about what had gone on while he was at Eddy's (she had full awareness of his presence there) and he also knew she was anxious to hear what he had to say. Although, he wasn't completely sure he would be able to voice the occurrence.

Once they finished, they shared a look, Marie standing up, grabbing her plate and utensils and then walked over to take Edd's.

He moved his hand to stop her. "Marie, you don't have t-to, um, do this. I could clean the dishes."

The female simply shook her head and replied, "Edd, no. It's fine. I can clean these dishes but," a sly grin spread across her face, "You have to tell me the deets about what happened with you and pumpkin head after that post-diner shtick Eddy pulled." She made her way over to the sink, turning on the hot water and wetting the sponge. "And then maybe if you're up for it, we could talk about what happened to you. Only if you're comfortable, though." She put soap on the sponge as she glanced back at the genius, trying to give him a reassuring smile although she was having trouble reassuring herself that he was okay.

Edd nodded. "O-Of course I will, u-um, share that information with y-you, Marie. Abo-out the bruises. A-And, did you say that Eddy," his eyebrows drew together and a small frown formed on his lips, "left me on purpose for the sake of K-Kevin and I?" His voice was full of surprise. There was no way his dear friend would set him up with someone he hated!

Wait. Set him up? No, no, no! Edd most certainly did  _not_  like Kevin like that!

Marie's giggle brought him out of his thoughts as she had been watching his face while he struggled to understand what really happened that night.

"Well," she turned back around to begin washing the dishes, "Kind of. I may, or may  _not_ , have paid him some money to ditch you. And then lied and said I would take you home. Which, of course, didn't happen," she flipped her hand while she spoke the last sentence as she laughed again. "I just wanted you two to socialize. As much as I hate to admit it, he was  _tooootally_  staring at you most of the time. I mean, like,  _damn_ , dude, it was as if he couldn't take his eyes off you. Until the food came, of course. Then that was all, well, any of us cared about, I guess," she said with a shrug, cleaning a fork.

"O-oh? You planned for him to take me home?"

"Yup."

"Oh."

Silence fell between them for several minutes while the water continued to splash on the dirty dishes. The occasional  _clink_  was heard whenever the dishes connected.

"Do, um, do you think, then, that K-Kevin likes me, Marie?" Edd inquired.

Marie stopped washing the dishes.

"I don't know, Edd." She turned around, wet, soapy sponge still in hand. "Maybe. But we'll just have to wait and see, don't you think?" She grinned at him, going back to cleaning.

Edd nodded, deciding to sit down in silence now as he waited for her to finish washing the dishes. He would have to thank her for the kind action in some way. Perhaps he could take her to see one of her favorite bands if they ever came around to their quaint little town or even the city. That was more than likely a thing she would enjoy.

When she finished, she sat down in the seat right next to him rather than across the table.

"So, what happened, hm? Anything juicy?" She folded her arms on the table and laid her head on top of them, staring at Edd with a look of interest.

"W-Well, it really wasn't much of anything. He just took me home. It was a very sweet gesture of him, if I must be honest." When Marie gave him a raised eyebrow and a smirk in response, he realized his words and he put his hands up in defense. "I-I didn't mean it like that! It's just that, well, if I am to be honest, he typically is not very sweet to me, or Eddy and Ed for that matter. While I do find that he may have favored me out of the three of us simply because I refused to be involved in any trifles with him, I did not think he would allow me to step on something he holds so dear to him. He cares so very much about that bike. I do think that each time I left my house to do something as simple as water the plants he would be out of his house as well, tending to any needs that the bike had. However, this was daily, you see, as the plants I own have a constant need for water. So, you see, Marie, my confusion is completely logical," he said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and his lips in a frown as he looked at her.

It took a moment, but the blue-haired female began to laugh. Loudly, at that.

She bent over in her seat and clutched at her stomach while she giggled about the long rant Edd had just went on.

Double D figured that, of course, it would funny to her for him to speak excessively about a topic that did not necessarily even matter to either of them, and the fact that he had been, to his dismay, quite defensive of his words was more embarrassing than the boy would like to admit to his friend.

He knew she was merely teasing, but Kevin was never someone he was on good social terms with. As much as he would have loved to be when they were younger, he and Eddy had bickered so much that it made it difficult. Although, he would, albeit hesitantly, admit the several moments where he  _perhaps_  helped the ginger get back at Eddy for his silly actions. However this was a subject for another time as Marie would most likely prod more into Edd's head and demand for clarification as to why he did that.

Dear lord, that would be a one-way trip for a migraine. The last thing he was in need of was more physical pain. He was certain he could do without it.

It took a couple of minutes, but when Marie's laughter died down, she wiped her teary eyes and smiled up at Edd.

"You know I'm teasing you, right? But hey, did anything else happen or did he really just take you home?"

The boy sighed. "W-Well, he did ask me if I would like to spend time with him. H-However.."

"However?" The female asked, egging him on by leaning in and making a motion with her hand.

"Y-Yesterday, um, Eddy asked me to spend an extra day. I, oh goodness, it really is not my place to be talking about the current state of relationship he has with his brother." He put up his hands in defense, desperately showing his need to keep his mouth shut. He didn't want Eddy to find out if he were to tell someone about how his brother treated him. He would absolutely hate him!

Marie reached out to him slowly. "Edd, it's okay. I'm not going to tell him, and he's not going to find out. I know this is something you need to talk about. Please, Edd, don't be afraid. This is important for you to talk about. You can't just let this slip by." She put a single hand on one of his shoulders.

Edd tensed, but swallowed and sighed in defeat. "O-Okay. E-Eddy does not have a very," he paused, searching for the right word, "reciprocated, in terms of endearment, relationship with his brother. H-His brother isn't friendly to h-him. He has done intensely s-shameful things. More than wh-what has happened to me." He motioned down to himself shakily in a way to emphasize the bruises. "There has never been a direct m-mention of it, but Eddy has hinted at, um, possible r-rape occurring."

"What?!" Marie pulled her hand back in shock, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth because of the disbelief.

"I am afraid s-so, Marie. It worried me for a long while that it might get worse, and Eddy had c-confined in me about his affections for people being more towards males than females, which I took as him being gay. He believes so himself, m-most times, but he also thinks he may be bisexual. E-Either way, his brother is not fond of those who are not heterosexual. L-Last night, he was saying an immense amount of rude things towards his brother. Calling him a word I cannot even fathom w-why anyone would ever say that to anyone, let alone their own b-brother!" His breath hitched as he looked at the floor, hands at his head.

The blue haired female's hands grabbed his, pulling them away and holding them, though not too tightly. This action earned Double D's attention, and she nodded for him to continue.

He sighed shakily. "A-Anyways, he asked me to stay for a-all of today so that nothing could happen, which, of course, I happily obliged to doing. B-But, this morning, I saw him. And he was not kind, Marie, really, he wasn't. I thought I would be okay at first, but he began to hit me with such a force, Marie, th-there are bruises! I can't go to school like this, Marie. Oh, dear, a-and I had to cancel my plans with Kevin! Goodness, I sincerely hope he is not upset about me doing that."

He could feel the tears beginning to fill his eyes, and he shut them while he squeezed Marie's hand. She squeezed back and leaned in to kiss his forehead.

"You don't have to go to school tomorrow, Edd. Take a break. You've been through so much." She looked at him, although he still had eyes closed while the tears flowed down his face.

Edd shook his head in protest, finally opening his teary cerulean eyes to look at her brown ones. "N-No, Marie, I really cannot. I have to maintain my perfect attendance. A-And I cannot afford to miss any of my classes because I have to stay on top of my grades! M-Marie, I-I really must go to school tomorrow. Please."

She laughed sadly, nodding. "Okay, Edd. But, something has to be done about this black eye," she let go of one of his hands and gently put it on the bruised eye. "And, we have to do something about Eddy's brother. You know that we can't just let this slide. Please tell me you don't think that we can just let him off the hook." She gave him a pleading look, which he turned away from.

"I-I don't know, Marie. He might do something to me. H-However, he is l-leaving today, so he m-may already be gone and we are unable to d-do or say anything to him." He sniffled a bit, his gaze going back to his female friend.

Said female pursed her lips, reaching for his hand again and giving it a small squeeze. "Do you know when he's coming back?" Edd shook his head. She sighed. "Okay. Well, when he does, we have to do something, alright? Like hell am I letting this bastard just hurt you and get away with it. It doesn't matter how long ago it might be when he comes back, but, shit, this isn't okay. You don't deserve this, Edd. You mean so much to me." She leaned in close and pressed their foreheads together, looking him in the eyes. "And, damn, as much as I hate to say it, we have to help Eddy too. He and I don't really get along well, but, I'm not gonna let his ass get hurt too. So let's not just do this for you, yeah? Let's do this for him, too." She tried to lighten him up with a smile, looking relieved when the boy nodded back and smiled in return.

Double D stood up, as well as Marie, and they walked to the door.

"I got some errands to do, but I just wanted to check up on you. If you need anything, really, I mean it,  _please_  do not hesitate to call me or text me. I will run here in seconds, alright?" Edd nodded. "Good. Love you, Edd."

He smiled, wiping his wet eyes. "I share the sentiment, Marie. Farewell. A-And, thank you."

She gave him a thumbs up as she walked away, and he watched her go until she was out of sight. Once that happened, he turned around and stepped back inside, closing the door, happy that it was just him and Marie that had this secret about what happened. That no one else would know about it because he was do his gosh darn best to cover up the bruises; especially the black eye. That was reassuring to him, and he smiled at the thought of having someone he could confine in for things like this. No one else would have to know. Yes, no one else  _could_  know, because it was just him and Marie.

Those thoughts comforted him as he walked back upstairs to the bathroom to change the bandages, however, little did he know that it was not just him and Marie that knew about this incident.

* * *

A certain ginger was currently at his front window, eyebrows up and mouth agape as he caught the image of Edd. The only thing he was able to capture was the bruised eye, but he was in loose clothes, and now he was beginning to assume the worst. That maybe there were bruises all over his body and he wasn't okay and needed medical help or some shit. But what the fuck was he thinking? He couldn't just walk to his house and say, "Hey, Edd, I was about to outside to walk my dog but I saw you and Marie talking and saw your eye and wanted to know if you were okay."

Or could he? No, no he couldn't. Right? That would be like a complete violation of space or some shit, maybe. But, hell, he didn't like the sight of Edd hurt. The sight sent a feeling of pain throughout his body, seeing someone he liked so goddamn much with bruises was on his list of things that were  _not_  okay.

His dog's bark snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at her.

"What, Bailey? You think I should?"

She barked again, and he rolled his eyes.

" _I_ ' _m talking to a fucking dog_.  _Damnit_."

"Should what?" His father called from behind him, walking over to him with his eyebrows raised.

Kevin turned around with lightning speed, getting slightly caught in the leash on his dog's collar.

"Ah, I just, uh, have a question for the guy across the street. That's all. And I was talking to myself, so, sorry, dad, I didn't mean to disturb you or anything," he said, his nervous fidgeting coming into play as his fingers tapped the side of his leg. Damn, he hoped his dad didn't notice.

His father simply chuckled. "Don't apologise, son. And, isn't that the boy you were goin' to spend time with? You said he canceled the plans for somethin' important, right?"

The ginger nodded. "Uh, yeah. He wasn't specific. I just wanted to ask him how his day was yesterday, and I figured I might as well go to his house and do that rather than text him, since he, ya know, lives right across the street. Do, you, uh, think I could do that and then walk Bailey?"

Mr. Barr waved him off with a motion of his hand. "Go ahead, son. So long as you get it done within the half hour. You go talk to him, son. I'm going to get myself some orange soda."

This earned a grin from the teenage boy, and he nodded. "Alright. I'll be back in a bit." He looked at his dog for a moment. "Sorry, Bailey," he said before he turned around and let go of his dog's leash, opening the door and stepping outside.

The football captain made his way across the street, looking both ways before crossing. He bit his bottom lip and cracked his knuckles to try and cope with his anxious feeling. Now he was having second thoughts. Fuck, should he?

No. He just wanted to let Edd know that he was here for him. That was all. Then he would go away and walk his dog. Yeah, that sounded good.

He knocked on the door three times, waiting for an answer.

* * *

Edd almost jumped when he heard the knocks coming from the door. Although, he shook it off immediately. It was more than likely that it was Marie, as she probably forgot something, of course. Who else would come bother him?

However, he still had several bandages that he need to replace, so he settled for popping his head into the hallway and looking down passed the steps and do the front door.

"Just a moment, please!" He shouted, hoping that whoever was on the other side could hear him. Although he completely trusted Marie with his life, he would have felt very shameful if she saw him in this current state; all of the bruises visible.

Thus, he continued to patch himself up with a small smile on his face. Thoughts of how kind and accepting the blue-haired female was caused him to feel numerous sparks of joy. There was no one as kind and genuine as Marie. As much as he silently regretted not even giving a second thought for Eddy and Ed, he couldn't help it as those two were unable to help him the way that the female could. It was not that they were bad at making him feel better, but they did not help him have the same security that she did. He felt sad thinking that those were his true thoughts of them, but he knew better. He loved those two just as much as Marie. The three were completely different, so of course they couldn't all offer the same thing. It was completely logical for him to be thinking this way. Right?

He shook his head as he put the first aid kit back under the sink, standing up slowly as he reached for his shirt on the sink and put it back on. He smiled, getting ready to see his friend.

When he walked down the steps, carefully, he made his way over to the door, opening the door fully as he believed the person on the other door to be none other than the sweet and welcoming spunky female he knew.

He was wrong.

His eyes widened when he saw that it was none other than Kevin Barr. His breath hitched, and he tried to close the door, but the ginger stopped him from doing so. No, no, no!

"Double Dweeb, hold up! I promise I just want to ask you something. I'll be quick, I swear. Just let me ask you one thing, okay?"

Edd wasn't fond of the nickname, but he gave football captain the benefit of the doubt. Some old habits never die. He hoped this would, though. However, now was certainly not the time to be focusing on some nickname! What could the boy possibly want to ask him?

He slowly stopped trying to push the door closed with, he realized, both of his hands. He put them down at his side, but was ready to defend himself if the time came.

Kevin put his hands up in defense when he noticed how tense the scholar was. "Listen, okay? I just, I wanna make sure you're okay. I saw you talkin' with Marie before I was about to walk my dog. I saw the bruised eye and, well, I got a little worried. I know it's weird, but, I-I dunno, it seems so sudden that you have a black eye out of nowhere. Like," he laughed awkwardly, one hand making its way to rub the back of his neck, "yesterday you were perfectly fine, a-and now, you're well," he finished his sentence with a motion of his hand to Edd's eye. "All I want to ask is if you're feelin' alright. And I just want you know that I'm here for ya. This is sudden, I guess, but I consider you a friend. And who likes seeing their friends hurt, am I right? So, I guess, uh, if you'll just let me know that, I'll leave. And we don't have to talk about this ever again if you don't want us to." The boy felt a bit embarrassed with how he just went on a complete rant about how he felt and looked down at his feet because of that.

Edd was truly surprised by Kevin's words. He expected harsh or mocking words to leave his mouth, but he was thankful that that wasn't what came out. He let a tiny smile form on his face, nodding to show that he understood what he said, and he respected him for being honest. It was a new side of him that he liked seeing.

"I, heh, am okay. I do not feel one hundred percent, but I am sure to attend school tomorrow. I appreciate your concern, Kevin. Thank you for coming over here and being upfront with me. I must admit that I enjoy seeing this version of you," he teased, laughing a bit silently.

Kevin chuckled in response, feeling highly at ease with the response he got from the boy, and his nervous fidgeting had stopped because of the answer he had gotten. Thank God. "Well, I just wanted to make sure, ya know? Hit me up if anything is wrong, Double Dork, okay?" He smiled, a genuine, and visible, one at Edd, earning a wider smile than his previous one from the scholar.

"Thank you again, Kevin. I, ahem, suppose that, since now you know, you may come visit me if you ever wish to know rather than send me a text message. Also, we live across the street from one another, so I do hope that you will. Perhaps we could have our time for spending time sooner than we think? Or, well, dear me, I forgot to ask if that was alright with you! Here I am, rambling about our future friendship plans, but I don't even know if you want to have any. Forgive me, Kevin."

The jock shrugged and waved him off with a motion of his hand, a grin still on his face. "No sweat. I'm down for hanging out whenever. You let me know when's a good time and I'll walk over or some shit."

"Language, Kevin."

"What are you, my mom?"

"Goodness, no! I know that I hold a lot of motherly characteristics but my, my, Kevin, I couldn't possibly be a mother. Both physically and seriously."

Kevin laughed. "Relax, man, I'm only teasing. But you do act like a mom sometimes, you know that, right?"

Double D sighed, nodding. "Yes, of course. I am told this by Eddy and Ed almost every day. Sometimes even Marie likes to taunt me for it. I wish I wasn't so motherly, but I suppose I cannot change that, can I? I don't think I would want to, well, I hope you do not take offense to this, but, be like  _you_. A-And by that," he put his hands up in defense, "I mean the lifestyle of being a jock. I prefer my quiet life of studying and learning rather than, correct me if I am wrong, going to numerous parties and or dates with beauteous females, or males or any other gender. I am an introvert at heart, and those types of activities, to put it simply, just do not fit my interests.

The ginger nodded. Damn, he was learning a lot about him. Not what he expected, but hell was he thankful for it. He liked knowing about the boy, it was comforting.

"Well, you're not wrong. There are a lot of parties and I have gone on a couple of dates with girls, but it's more of Nat's thing than mine. Not that I don't like it, which I do, but I prefer being with my friends rather than being with a bunch of random people who I have to talk to for popularity reasons. It's tiring." He was about to continue when he realized that he had to walk his dog. "Hey, I would love to stay and chat, but I gotta go walk my dog. Maybe I'll come by later or text you or see you in school tomorrow, yeah?"

Edd nodded, smiling. "Of course, Kevin. I appreciate you dropping by. Have a good day, and, for the third time," he said with a chuckle, "thank you."

Kevin shook his head. "No need to thank me. It isn't a problem. Just stay safe and contact me if you need to. Talk to ya later, Double Dork."

With that, Edd watched the other for a few seconds as he walked back to his house before closing the door. He bit down on his bottom lip and felt joy and anxiousness course through his whole body. On one hand, he and Kevin had improved their friendship! On the other hand, Kevin knew that he at least had the bruised eye and that was nerve-wracking, but he seemed like he wasn't going to tell a soul, which he was happy about. And goodness, how kind of an action it was for him to even  _bother_  to stop by and ask him if he was feeling okay! And—

Oh. Oh no.

Edd put his hands up to his head, shaking it slowly as his eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit.

Good Lord this could not be happening. He hadn't even been talking out loud now but his throat felt very dry. He walked over to the kitchen area, opening a cabinet and retrieving a glass with his filled with water. After drinking it, he washed the dish and dried it with a paper towel, placing it back in the cabinet.

He honestly hoped this wasn't happening. Why would this happen? He and Kevin were just friends, after all! Right? Oh dear Lord.

Edd decided that maybe it would be best to obtain his phone and message a certain blue-haired female about the whole ordeal that just occurred and now what he was feeling. He felt like he was in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, for heaven's sake!

Once he had grabbed his phone, he sat down on his bed and opened up his messages. He began to compose a new one to Marie.

**Marie. This is very urgent and I dearly hope that you can respond immediately.**

He tried to control his breathing by closing his eyes and thinking of relaxing things, such as watering his plants, which, curses, he had to do his daily chores soon. But, nevertheless, watering his plants was a tranquil thought for him. They grow and give him fresh air to breathe. What is better than that?

His phone vibrated, and he quickly unlocked his phone and read the message over.

**what up double d. lay yo problems on me.**

Edd breathed in slowly. Here goes nothing.

**I think I have a crush on Kevin Barr.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAANNNDDDD CLIFFHANGERRRRR. Or something like that, haha. I apologise that this took so long, but I wanted to make this chapter extra-long or something (and I hope to do that with the upcoming chapters!) This chapter was 6,000+ words, which is a new amount for me and I'm insanely proud of myself! I hope to start making a chapter at least once a week, or if I can't manage that, once every two weeks. I would love to start writing chapters like crazy but I kind of lack motivation, haha. I have all these ideas but I kind of feel like no one is even reading. Perhaps a review or two to help get a writer by? Or not, I'm sure I'll write eventually because I honestly do want to finish this story. So even if I go on a long hiatus I do intend on completing this!
> 
> Thank you for reading, please review as it truly helps me continue writing this! And if you like this story enough to see it continue, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to leave a couple of encouraging words. Please fill me in on any spelling mistakes, by the way!
> 
> -WADD


	13. Getting Things Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy hell it was like 5 in the morning when I wrote this chapter and I was reading it over and in the end notes I realized that I spelled "feel me in on any spelling mistakes" instead of fill I am soooooooo ashamed.

Edd was biting his bottom lip as he anticipated Marie's response. Why hadn't she responded yet? He had texted her, he looked at his phone, about six minutes ago! Of course, he wasn't an impatient person, but one should believe that her message back would have been lightning speed considering how she admitted that she attempted to get them together (although in a friend way, but nevertheless, that was something that she did!).

He stood up and began pacing the room, trying to find out how this all started. The infatuation for Kevin, of course. Why, they had rarely talked until the events on Friday. Besides, how did he know he had really felt something for him rather than it be just a small feeling of gratefulness? After all, it was such an abrupt discovery that it could not possibly be true!

Double D laughed out loud to himself, stopping his pacing and putting a hand on his head while he leaned forward. Of course it was just something small! Kevin with him? Goodness, no!

Eddward was an academic person, unlike said boy who was socialite. And, he said that he gone on dates with girls! That would mean that he had no feelings of homosexuality, wouldn't it? This was certainly nothing for him to worry about as it was an occurrence with the probability of it being so slim one would need a magnifying glass to see it! In fact, he should just drop this immediately. Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about the ginger. Perhaps stall their possible plans in hopes of giving these feelings enough time to do some subsiding.

But to cancel on Kevin again would be quite the rude gesture would he couldn't even fathom why he would do such a thing! The boy would certainly never engage in conversation with him after he had done that.

So, much to his dismay, Edd could not cancel on him yet again. It was most likely best this way then; he could test the waters to see if his feelings for the other male were true. And if during his journey, for all one knows, there could be the chance that Kevin was not as heterosexual as he led on, or spoke about, for that matter.

Oh, who was Edd talking about! Kevin Barr was a jock! A football captain who probably had a wonderful toned body and more than likely every prep, and maybe even girls not considered as one, falling for him with each word that came out of his mouth. With every smile and cocky look at his friends that the scholar saw from afar. All those times that he laughed at a joke (or were they gossiping about others? As much as he disliked admitting it, he would not be surprised if the ginger did find amusement in those things) and the socialite might have even caught the nerd looking at him for those split moments. Their eyes would meet and each would quickly look away. How silly he would feel after that since the jock would more than likely blather it off to his friends about how he saw him looking and thought how creepy he was and weird and that he totally wasn't gay and that the "dork should stop looking at even though he knows he's good looking" and, and, and—

Dear Lord! He needed to get ahold of himself! He was muddling over something so small! Kevin wouldn't say those things about him, right? They were just glances and seen as such, nothing more could've been said on the matter, right? Why was this so confusing? Goodness, if only someone had warned Edd that crushes were tougher than he thought. He was book smart, not street smart, for crying out loud! There was no way he was planned for this sort of thing, especially with the two friends he had spent time with for most of his life (and then Marie, who was only a friend of his since the beginning of summer last year, but he trusted her quite a lot with all she has done for him!). How could he have the social skills for this sort of thing? When he had his crush on Nazz, all he could do was stare at her dumbly and his words would be a jumbled mess! Given, that was most of the boys in the cul-de-sac (she was quite beautiful, and she still was), but most of them had learned better.

Kevin, who had acted this way, was now cool and collected around her. One might even believe the two were meant for each other! And Edd wouldn't lie if he said that thought had never passed his mind (numerous times. In fact, it was passing his mind right now).

Sarah, along with Jimmy, had each been looked up to quite a bit because of their immense fashion sense (and that Sarah was co-captain of the cheerleading team, best friends with Nazz, and even talked with Kevin here and there). The two were inseparable, and the freshman of this year were constantly ogling them and trying to talk to them, to which they (if Edd were to admit) rudely pushed them away. However, they had both gotten a large amount of popularity. Sarah, while she still had a few anger issues, had grown her ginger hair out nicely and was a force to be reckoned with because of her beauty and quick remarks. She did never attract Eddward the way that Nazz did, but because of puberty, he did say that he noticed her a little more.

Jimmy, on the other hand, had lost the brace ring around his mouth and had replaced it with regular, although clear, braces instead. He had grown tall, only about an inch or so less than Edd himself, and it was quite the surprise to him that there had been such a growth spurt, but it was amazing as well. While he rarely socialized with either of them, it seemed as if Sarah still held that crush on him. The scholar felt bad that he would never share the sentiment with her.

Rolf was still, well, Rolf. He was still in school, but to say that he saw him often would be a fib. He only caught glances of him or heard the occasional sentence with his name it (said by one of his cul-de-sac acquaintances). Edd believed that he still worked on his precious farm, and was amazed how he managed to do that whilst completing his school years. However, he was unaware if Rolf was going to continue onto college or stay on the farm. It was more than likely that he would choose the latter.

Jonny still had his imaginary friend "Plank," but he had become less attached to the piece of wood and socialized with others. Although, sometimes, he struggled in conversation, he had made several more friends and the cul-de-sac kids still talked to him. Eddward felt bad for him, however, as some still teased him for the imaginary friend, but he knew it was a coping method for the lack of social skills he possessed, which is why he wouldn't mind engaging in a conversation or two with him. The boy could be smarter than he looked at certain subjects (woodworking and robotics), which was a fantastic talent, if he did say so himself.

He shook his head. All of these boys had improved with socializing, meanwhile Edd was still nervous around others. Of course, unless it pertained to certain subjects for which he could on about for hours on end. Those conversations were easy to hold. However, Nazz was never one for science and math, as he had tried engaging in said subjects to no avail. Kevin was certainly the same as her; he hated math (words he heard from the boy himself during one of his leisurely talks with friends between bells) and he did hear a sentence to Nazz which he probably shouldn't have.

* * *

_A Week and a Half Ago (Week After Holiday Break)_

Edd walked into school that morning chipper as ever. Today was going to be a good day for him, as it was the tryouts for the swimming team this year. The female swim team had started in September so that way it wasn't an overload of auditions to be on both teams at the same time. That would be quite a mess!

The reason he was so fond of this day was that he was the co-captain for the boy's swimming team! Meaning he did not have to audition  _and_  he was to choose who would be best! It was such an exhilarating event that was worried he wouldn't be able to control himself whilst there. He shared such excitement with Marie, Ed, Eddy, and James the past few days. Marie was glad for him, Ed had said something that he thought was encouraging but didn't know for sure, Eddy seemed apathetic and James, well, he told him that he needed to relax.

But this was such a big deal to him, so he could not simply be tranquil. It was a great way to show that he could manage being a little bit athletic while he still pertained a stupendous amount of knowledge. He was not trying to show off, oh no, it was to prove to Eddy, whom doubted his abilities for the longest time. When he had been selected to join last year, it left his short friend was flabbergasted, which gave Edd a great amount of joy to finally have the boy be proven wrong about something. While he loved his friend dearly, he wouldn't lie that it could be quite exasperating to constantly be near someone who boasted about always being right. This was only the most proper reaction from Eddward.

Although maybe he did go overboard when telling his friend how he was wrong.

"Listen, Nazz, this important. I don't know what to do to." A sudden voice said. "I mean, for fuck's sake, I'm," the voice lowered, "on the fucking brink of failing calculus."

One of Double D's eyebrows went up and he took a quick glance to see that it was his childhood bully, Kevin, who had said those words.

That shocked him, but not much. It was typical for some students to lack in their school subjects. Of course, that usually required a tutor unless the student could self-teach themselves into getting a better grade. However, most were too lazy to do so.

Edd would know this, as he sometimes took on peer tutoring. The only things he was ever busy with was Science Olympiad, Model UN and now swimming. Although they were brief meetings or events only occurred every now and then. Swimming would end up being an everyday thing, but he did take on the occasional teenager who would work with him on the weekend. He thought that that was the best idea for both him and student since most times it ended up being a jock, cheerleader, or any sport team member that needed the assistance in the class. Edd was happy to help since it not only helped keep him refreshed but it filled him up with joy that he was doing something good.

Eddward tried to keep within his thoughts, but he ended up tuning back into the conversation. Oh how wrong it was to eavesdrop!

"Kev, just find a tutor! Stop being so persistent about it. It doesn't matter if they're 'nerds' or whatever, you need to keep your grades up if you want to stay on any of the sports teams. Just go to the peer tutoring office and find someone, for Pete's sake."

The female who had shouted (albeit quietly) at Kevin was none other than Nazz Van Bartonschmeer. She was his best friend, as everyone at school and within the cul-de-sac knew. Perhaps they were even dating, as many of the students had suspicions about their tight-knit relationship. Edd would be lying if he said he didn't think of them as such every now and then from his own perplexing of their closeness.

"Nazz, it's not that easy," the ginger said in a hushed voice, glancing around to see if anyone was listening (Double D put in a lot of effort to seem interested in his thoughts by putting a finger on his chin and tapping his foot silently). "You know who does peer tutoring. I'd never survive if I went through with that shit."

The blonde sighed and shoved a book in his face so that she could stop him from talking. "Shut up, dude. Listen, you should, like, totally tell your coaches that if you don't get your grades by the beginning of the second semester,  _three weeks_ , then you're going to peer tutoring. You gotta promise me this, though," she said, taking the book off his face. She gave him a look that basically read "No ifs, ands, or buts."

The jock rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. But if I end up dying when I go into it, 'cause I  _know_  I will, then I'm blaming it on you." He said as they began walking in the same direction as where Edd was standing.

Nazz laughed. "Whatever, Kev. Just shut your mouth and drop me off at my class. You have your own to attend, too, you know."

The two had passed by the scholar as if he wasn't even there, and said boy let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

So, Kevin needed help with calculus? Well, he himself was passing the class with flying colors, if he were to say so himself. And on top of that, he participated in peer tutoring! Perhaps he could help him with the class?

But who was he so afraid of that did peer tutoring? If anything had him perplexed it would have to be that. All of the people he knew that were in it were friendly people with good hearts. None of them could have possibly done anything to jock, or at least he hoped not. Said boy seemed like he would be strong enough to take on anything, mostly because that was the demeanor that he put out. However, Edd was sure that the ginger had his own fears and worries that were kept safe with his close friends, such as Nazz. Of course that was how it was, because Kevin was a regular human being just like anyone else.

As he closed his locker and began to walk towards his class, he couldn't quite understand why people always had to make themselves have a different persona than who they really were. Whilst he was not always truthful, Edd could never pretend to be someone he was not. Others doing so and their reasons why were unbeknownst to him.

* * *

Eddward had sat down on his bed trying to compose his thoughts and piece them together. He had gone on such a tangent merely because he believed he had not socialized enough to truly know that if what he was feeling for Kevin was true or false.

He looked at his phone. Marie had supposedly replied to him several times whilst he was thinking. He opened his phone and read them over, checking the times on each one.

1:03 (Seven minutes after Edd's confession):  **oh my fucking god. are you legit right now?**

1:03:  **like seriously. do you mean that?**

1:09:  **okay edd don't leave me in suspense here or anything! it's totally not like i'm waiting for an answer!**

1:14:  **double d what the hell are you doing? you can't just leave me hanging like that man!**

1:23:  **double d I will come over your house right now if you don't respond to this message.**

1:24:  **well actually i'm about to start sweeping the floor so that would have to wait a couple minutes.**

1:24:  **so you have like**

1:24:  **three minutes to text me back.**

That was the end of the messages. Edd looked at the time on his phone; 1:26.

He quickly decided it would be best to respond to her so she wasn't rushing over to his house.

**My apologies, Marie. I was lost in my thoughts. For the exact same reason why we are messaging, to be quite frank. However, yes, I am afraid so that I am only speaking the truth here.**

He decided it was best to leave it at that, lest he type out a whole grandiose that would take so long to type that Marie would still believe he isn't responding and would end up taking the stroll to his home.

The text had a quick response.

**omg. dude. this is amaaaaazaaaaay. i mean i know i said i don't know earlier but i wouldn't be surprised if he had a crush on you. like i said he was completely entranced by you for whatever reason on friday. damn though like that was quick. i can't believe you like him already. what's the dealio then? like how did you know?**

**Well, after you left, he actually came to visit me. He claimed to have caught a glimpse of the bruise on my eye and wanted to ask me if I was in good condition. It was a highly considerate action of him which I had never seen before, and I admitted that I did quite enjoy how kind he was acting. He didn't necessarily respond to it with words, but I do believe it caused him to chuckle. I just realized that I liked him from the sweet demeanor he showed me, unlike what I typically see when I am amongst Ed and Eddy. I cannot blame him for his harsh words; not completely, at least. While I do think he could have said nicer things, Eddy wasn't always friendly himself. So, I suppose that concludes why I like him. He seems to be a genuinely nice person once you get to know him.**

Edd read over his message and pursed his lips. That was quite a lot of typing he just did. Hopefully it wasn't too much for Marie. He knew he could overextend on his words rather than just get to the point but if he thought correctly the bluenette preferred to know all of the details rather than be left in the dark about everything.

He decided now would be a good time to get started on his chores, as he had nothing else to do and it was only necessary that he did so. Jim and Al would need to be rearranged by a couple of centimeters, the floors needed to be swept and mopped, any shelves or nooks and crannies had to be dusted.

So many things to do. It was imperative that he started now, of course.

His stomach growled.

" _Well_ ,  _I suppose eating first wouldn_ ' _t hurt_ that  _much_.  _However_ , _I should tend to Jim and Al first_."

Edd grabbed his phone and stood up off his bed, surprised to see that Marie had responded so quickly, and walked over to where Jim and Al were so he could reposition them. He stopped before the table the cacti were on to read and then respond to the female's text.

**brooooooo that's like a total crush right there. are you two hangin anytime soon or what?**

**I did notify him that if he wishes to visit my house that it would be a perfectly okay action being that we live across the street from each other and that he knows about the bruised eye. However, he is unaware of any other bruises or even the event that occurred. I may tell him but I do not think now is the best time since we are not all that close. I would like to eventually. It is just too soon of a subject.**

He opened the weather app on his phone and checked for the time of sunset. The cacti needed various amounts of sunlight in order to grow healthy. Once he had the time he checked the extra information beneath the week temperatures and checked for the sun angle. Using these details, he changed their locations and put them in the spots that seemed appropriate.

His phone buzzed in his hand when he finished and he opened his phone to read the message.

**i got ya. are you gonna make the first move though? like you should probably invite him over first unless you two have plans that made already?**

**We did plan on spending time this Sunday, but I do believe we could hang out even earlier. I said this to him and I may send him a message once I finish up my chores and let him know that we could have a get together after school. I think it would be quite nice. What about you, Marie? What's your input on this? I want to make sure I'm not making any mistakes here.**

As much as he would enjoy continuing his conversation with the female he had to eat and then begin his chores. This meant that he would have to put his social life to the side for the time being and leave his phone in his room.

So that's exactly what he did.

* * *

When he returned to his room, he picked up his phone to find not just a message from Marie, but a couple of messages from Eddy was well.

He decided to respond to Eddy's first, as they were most likely more important (he felt guilty for thinking this despite the fact that the bluenette would never know that that's how he felt unless he told her).

2:25;  **hey sockhead. just wanna check to make sure that youre okay. you left early and it got me kind of worried so im just sending a message. respond as soon as you can.**

2:42;  **sorry for the second message but im just getting anxious now and i would really appreciate you responding now.**

It was 2:46 now, so thankfully Edd would not be too late in answering his messages and calming any worries he had.

**Apologies, Eddy. I was busy doing my chores. I assure you that I am in decent shape. There was an event that occurred, but it is not best to discuss over text message and I do not believe I am in too chipper of a mood to share what went on in person. I promise you that all is well and when you see me tomorrow I will be okay. Thank you for your concern.**

He then moved on to the bluenette's message.

**bro i think that's a great idea! you two could watch a movie or something or like didn't you say he had trouble in calculus or whatever? ask him if he needs any help. i'm sure he'll be happy that you offered.**

After reading it, his eyebrows went up.

Of course! That was an amazing idea. While he did not want to bother Kevin and admit he had eavesdropped, hopefully it would not be a troublesome thing if he were to offer assistance with the class being that math was his second favorite subject (next to science, of course!). If he rejected him, then they would just simply move on, right? There would be no need to stay on the topic if they could avoid it.

**Marie that is an wonderful idea! I fully value your great mind in these types of situations as I am not the best when it comes to socializing. I would just want to make a great impression with him and not anger him because I was listening in on the conversation when it really was not my place to be doing so.**

After that message was sent, he found it would be best to message Kevin now and ask him if it would be okay for them to meet up after school sometime this week and walk to his house. Yes, he would approach him exactly like that.

Oh, he was so happy things appeared to be going well (and his way) for once!

He composed a new message to the ginger.

**Salutations, Kevin! I apologise if this is disturbing you but I would like to ask if you had free time any day after school this week for us to walk together to my house so we could get to know each other better and finally have that little get together? If not, that is perfectly okay. I just found it to be a wonderful way for us to socialize.**

He read the messages several times over to make sure each word was spelt correctly and that there were no grammatical errors. Once he made sure of this, he hit the send button with a realization.

The scholar smacked his forehead and shook his head.

Was this what it was like to be infatuated with someone? How ridiculous of him to check over the message that many times!

It was so strange, this crush he had. It made him want to be the absolute best that he could be to impress the jock. It seemed so absurd that he felt this way even though he knew that Kevin wasn't exactly interested in the smarts of someone and rather interested in sports. Of course, he was sure that the other male would certainly like someone who was at least somewhat intelligent rather than someone who would be considered braindead. It was a bit of comforting to have this thought that he just may have a chance with him.

Through his thoughts, every text he sent had been answered. He found it best to answer in the same order that he sent the messages.

Eddy;

**shit. ok. please dont hesitate to message me though. you know you mean a lot to me and i want to make sure that you are perfectly fine and that my shitty brother didnt do anything to you.**

Eddward smiled at the message. It was rough patches like these that really showed just how sweet Eddy could be, and it was these tough times that he really felt for Eddy most.

Although, he wasn't sure it was enough for him to reciprocate the feeling that had been revealed to him only the night before.

Wow, it was truly only the night before? It felt like it had been at least a couple of days ago since it had happened. Everything was happening in flashes to him.

**Language, Eddy. But, do not worry for too long, alright? I will make sure that we have time, in private, might I add, to discuss what occurred that caused me to leave at the time that I did. Is your brother still home? Is Ed still there?**

Now to move onto the next message.

Marie;

**awww shucks, double d, you're makin me blush. but you're welcome, dude. tell me how it goes, okay?**

**Well, actually, Marie, I just sent him a message. I asked him if it would be okay for us to hang out sometime after school this week, at my house, and then if he says yes then I will ask him about the calculus tutoring in person. I truly hope he does not reject my offer, as it is an important class and I would hate to know that I was practically standing around just watching him fail. If that makes sense.**

Okay, now the last message.

" _Don_ ' _t be afraid_ ,  _Edward_."

Kevin;

**hey. yeah that sounds cool. i think we have baseball tryouts or whatever on wednesday so we probably cant do it then. any other day is good. like maybe tuesday? or would you prefer thursday or friday?**

This was a nice surprise. Kevin's typing had surprisingly gotten better. Maybe not as good as it should be, but he wasn't typing atrociously anymore. Somewhat. Perhaps when they spent time together he could help him out with that. Only if he had the ginger's consent, of course.

**Tuesday sounds like a pleasant time, Kevin! I already have things in mind that we could do, however I do believe it would be better for me to ask them in person. And while I do have the option of walking to your house and asking you now I have other duties to attend to. If you are able to spare a mere minute or two for me tomorrow, whether it be before school or after, I would have a question to ask you about said topic. Only if that is okay, however.**

Edd sent the message without even bothering to check it over. He was  _not_  going to fall into that repulsive course of actions that a teenage girl would if she had a crush. He had heard enough conversations to know how it goes and the last thing he needed was to be pacing back and forth, wondering why he hadn't responded yet.

Kevin was a busy person and it was only right if he gave him time and space to do what he needed and then he would answer him within due time.

Besides, they weren't even dating!

(Yet, he hoped).

* * *

Kevin read over the message with a quirked brow.

What could he have to ask him?

Although it was something that seemed important, he shrugged it off. It was just one of the dorks, so what could he want that would be so bad?

Then again, he was the smartest of three, and only God knows what he could have in store.

No. He was sure it was okay.

**yeah i can talk to you before school if thats good. me nazz and nat want to chill after school tomorrow so itll work out fine.**

Figuring that that was all he needed to write, he hit send and put his phone down for a moment, pondering.

Should he tell Nazz and Nat about what was going on? Probably. That would be a good discussion for tomorrow. Although it would most likely be more annoying than over the phone because he couldn't hang up on either of them in order to stop any teasing they'll be doing.

His phone buzzed. He unlocked his phone.

**Nazz, Nathan, and I, Kevin. But, yes, that sounds like a great plan. I will meet with you at my locker if you that is okay. It is right near Nazz's, which I do believe you know where that is. We'll meet up there tomorrow morning and discuss our plans then. If you have any other questions you can always message or call me.**

Kevin grinned at the message. What a little shit; correcting his grammar like that as if he were his teacher.

His smile dropped and he let his phone fall to his lap when he suddenly began having inappropriate thoughts about Edd.

" _You have_ got  _to be shitting me_."

Welp, might as well go take a shower and take care of his newly found friend down south. Yep, that'd be what he going to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haaaaaah, a little smut thing-y-ish whatever to end his chapter (it's only 5,100+ words :-( ). Maybe I'll write a separate work of Kevin getting off to the thought of Edd (for this) but I'm a little nervous to because I don't know how good my smut skills are! I guess writing that is the best way to see though, right?
> 
> Anyways, thank you reading and I hope you will *REVIEW* as well! Please fill me in on any spelling mistakes.
> 
> -WADD


	14. Discussing Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****PLEASE READ*****
> 
> (This is kind of more for ff.net but I'm posting it here as well.)
> 
> I would like to spread the message to you, my readers, that the description is **NOT** to increase my review count (I am saying this because I was accused of feeling as such)!
> 
> However, that is **NOT** the case.
> 
> The reason I ask for reviews is so, and I told the person who pointed a finger at me, that I am writing everything correctly. I would hate to be writing this story and have Edd or Kevin or anyone else be out of character or different than what you, my readers, expect. I love that people are favoriting it and following it, honestly!
> 
> **BUT** that doesn't help me know if I'm writing the story correctly. Simple reviews such as "The story is going along nicely!" even help me, because at least it's turning out okay.
> 
> The reviews **ALSO** help me know that I'm not publishing this to an empty audience! I do get the occasional review or I even have people that review EVERY chapter (thank you to those that do that because you honestly are the ones that push me forward).
> 
> While it isn't required to review, it really does assist me in typing this story. So if you could leave a review on what you think about how it's going along so far I would love that. They mean so much to me, honestly. It doesn't even have to be critical. I'm just glad to know that this story is one that people enjoy.
> 
> So, once again, I am going to repeat that this is **NOT** to increase my review count.
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you will continue to support me in continuing this story.

The alarm clock on the nightstand next to Edd's bed went off at 5 in the morning sharp. The boy was quick to rise up out of his bed and reach over to turn off the alarm clock. There was a lot that he had to attend to before he went to school this morning.

He slowly got out of bed and walked over to his dresser to retrieve clothes.

All of his limbs were shaking while he did this. He wasn't excited to attend it, but he knew he had to. Although he was at first opposed to going to school today, he eventually came to the conclusion that it would be terrible if he were to miss a day of class. Not only would his parents scold him for the action, but he would more than likely miss out on an important lesson or two.

And, thankfully, he had gym tomorrow so there was no need to fret over his fellow classmates saying anything about any marks on his stomach. However, what if someone saw or noticed that his skin had the colors similar to bruises around his left eye? He did call Marie yesterday for assistance, and she helped him obtain something called "concealer" which is meant to cover up any blemishes or acne. Could it help with his bruise?

There was only one way to find out.

With determination, Edd made his way over to his bathroom and closed the door behind him. He turned on the water to a warm temperature as he carefully placed his clothes for the day on the sink. He begin to strip off his current pajamas and tossed them into the small basket for laundry.

" _My_ ,  _the basket is starting to fill up_.  _I'll have to do laundry tonight_ ,  _then_ ," he thought.

After making a note in his head to take care of the dirty clothes, he then removed all of the bandages he had which covered the cuts and tossed those in the trash. He looked them over, pursing his lips. They weren't look too well, but he figured they certainly would've been worse if he hadn't been constantly tending to them. He just wanted tomorrow to be okay. He didn't need anyone finding out what was going on.

That reminded him of the conversation he had with Eddy last night. What was he going to tell him? He wouldn't feel great lying to him, but maybe he could only tell him part of the truth. Then it technically could not be considered fibbing but rather hiding something.

Oh, but he hated the idea of that, as well! Eddy was one of his best friends and certainly had a right to know about this just as much as Marie. However, it was his own  _brother_  they were talking about. But the short boy knew the way brother was, especially since he experienced abuse himself.

He sighed as he stepped into the shower, trying to come up with the best thing to tell his friend.

Perhaps he could tell him that things just didn't go well with him and his brother?

No, no, that would probe questions, and he wanted this to go smoothly.

There was always telling the truth, but he would hate to worry his friend. Goodness! That was the last thing he would like to do (cause Eddy to fret over his current condition).

Edd washed the cuts as he continued thinking of the best plan for what he should tell his short friend. It hurt a bit, but he knew it was okay because it was cleaning the cuts. Although, soap isn't ideally what you used to clean deep cuts. However, some of the cuts were minor and didn't require any rubbing alcohol in order to ensure that they healed, so soap ended up being fine.

After he washed off the soap, he began to tend to his hair.

* * *

 

When he was done with his shower, it was already 5:14, causing Edd to shake his head at himself.

" _Too much time has been spent thinking_.  _You need to relax_ ,  _Eddward_.  _Everything will be okay_.  _Do not fret_.  _Just continue being your usual self_ ,  _like Marie said_.  _Don_ ' _t do anything that will cause suspicion and you won_ ' _t have to worry about anything_.  _Relax_."

He took a deep breath in and out as he grabbed a towel to begin drying himself. It was quite stressful having to hide something so big from the whole student body. What if the concealer washed off or he didn't do it right or some part of the bruise wasn't covered?

No, he needed to remember what Marie said.

She told him to bring it with him to school in case anything happened. On top of that, he would just have to hide his face when he walked through the halls and keep his head a little lower during class.

To Edd, that seemed suspicious, but if he was subtle about it then things should be fine.

Yes, things would be okay if he just maintained a good mind. Perhaps he should pretend like it isn't even there. If he acts cautious then others will notice, and that would be awful.

After taking another deep breath in and out, he put on new bandages for the wounds. When he finished this, he realized that he forgot to bring the concealer with him, so he opened the bathroom door and went back into his room.

"Now, where did I put that?" He said to himself.

He checked the top drawer of his night stand, saying "Ah!" when he saw it in there. He grabbed it and shut the drawer, walking back to the bathroom and shutting the door behind him again.

It looked a little weird, but he figured that it was what he needed, so he opened it. Marie said that in this type of situation, he didn't need a makeup brush since there was no acne involved. So, he supposed it would be fine if he were to just use his fingers instead.

He turned on the water and grabbed the soap to begin washing his hands.

" _Just in case_ ," he thought to himself. He wanted to make sure that there were absolutely no germs that were on his hands whilst he did this. He knew that he just got out of the shower but he still worried. After all, there was a possibility that he could've touched something within the last few minutes that would've dirtied his hands. This was most definitely reasonable.

After he dried his hands he began to put the concealer on the bruised eye. It hurt a bit, but that was to be expected. It was worth it if it meant that no one would find out what happened and that he could attend school safely.

When he felt that he placed enough of it on the bruise, he used his fingers to blend it in and ensure that it covered every area of the bruise. There were a few spots that were still a blue/yellow-green color, so he used more of the concealer and blended those spots in as well.

He looked at himself in the mirror to ensure that it was all hidden. For several seconds, he stood there, just standing at himself, not really even deep in thought. All he was doing was analyzing himself; the cuts and numerous bruises he had made him feel hideous. He pursed his lips as he put the cap back onto said item, and washed his hands of the cosmetic.

Why did this have to happen to him? He just wanted to protect Eddy. All he wanted was for his friend to be safe from his terrible brother. Now, all he would feel is pathetic. He wasn't any sort of hero for what he did. Any good person would have stood up for someone with the situation that Eddy is in. He was just doing the right thing. However, he wasn't strong. No, he wasn't like Kevin in the slightest.

Wait, why is he comparing himself to Kevin?

Oh, right, because the ginger is strong. He would have certainly been able to defend himself against the brute. Or, at least, better than Edd himself would have ever managed. If anything, he was sure the other would just end up with a couple of bruises, whereas the scholar was hurting all over from this occurrence. It even pained him just walking up the stairs, but he knew it was important for him to pretend it didn't exist. This was not only because he couldn't let anyone at school know, but he needed to get better. He couldn't let his affect him and make him frightened. Although it already had, it was undoubtedly crucial that he were to be strong. If he couldn't be strong anymore, then who would Eddy go to? Ed was a sweet friend of theirs, but they both were aware he couldn't comprehend just how heavy this problem was. The shorter had no other close friends besides Double D, so he knew that he must be strong for the both of them.

That little piece of information cause a smile to go on his face as his put on his clothes for the day. He placed the towel in the laundry basket and grabbed the concealer, turning off the bathroom light as he opened the door and walked back into his room.

There, he put on his socks and shoes and his watch. He put his concealer in his messenger bag while he quietly sighed to himself (despite that no one else was there to hear it). He grabbed his books and messenger bag before walking downstairs.

With a quick glance as his watch, he saw that it was 5:46. Before he left for school he was going to eat a simple breakfast; a banana. Maybe he would pack himself lunch? Fruit sounded like a good choice for keeping him healthy.

Before grabbing a banana he went into a cabinet and fetched himself a brown paper bag. He opened it and placed an orange inside. Was an orange enough? No, it didn't seem like enough. He grabbed an apple and put that in the brown paper bag as well.

Now he would have his banana.

Taking it from the fruit bowl, he peeled it and ate it a bit slowly. There was no time to rush, as much as he thought he should. Extra help  _did_  start at 7, and it took about twenty-five minutes to walk to school.

He continued to slowly chomp down on the banana when he heard a knock on his door.

That was strange. Were Eddy and Ed here again this morning? It was endearing when they were here before, and for them to come again would be even more of a delight!

Excitedly, he walked over to the door, banana still in hand. He opened it, expecting to see his two lovely friends.

Instead, Kevin Barr had been on the other side.

He was shocked, and his eyes and mouth had each opened in surprise.

The ginger looked to be cool and collected as he smirked.

"Good morning, Double Dweeb. Surprised to see me?"

"I-I, um, K-Kevin, w-what are you do-doing here?" He mentally cursed himself for stuttering so much. What could even be the reason for this?

The jock raised an eyebrow as he leaned on the doorway, still keeping composure. Oh how Edd envied him!

"You said you wanted to talk to me before school. I know it's a little early, but, I figured that since we live across the street from one another it would be simple for us to just walk to school together and discuss what's up. It'll be easier than having to find each other in the morning, won't it?"

Edd thought about it before nodding. "Y-Yes, yes, I believe you're right. U-Um, do come in, Kevin," he said as he stepped out of the way and made a gesture with his arm to welcome him inside.

The taller walked in only a few steps, looking around. After he closed the door, the scholar noticed this and began to feel a little uneasy, if he were to be honest. It wasn't like he was moving around. All he was doing was moving his head around and seeing what he could from his current spot. After about a minute of doing this, he turns around and speaks.

"Ya know, I don't think I've ever been inside your house. Despite all of the years that we've been living right across from each other, this is my first time of really looking at it."

These words caused Edd to raise his eyebrows before flushing with embarrassment and looking down at his feet, which were not very interesting, but he had no other place to look at.

"W-Well, we weren't exactly the closest of people in our younger y-years, Kevin."

Kevin laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I hope we can get closer, though. Kind of sick of all this childish bullshit that still follows us. Well, except between me and that short-tempered friend of yours. He is just so damn easy to piss off," he said with another chuckle.

Edd pursed his lips. "Language, Kevin. You  _are_  in my house, so please do be respectful. But, yes, I suppose it is quite easy to anger Eddy. However, you aren't exactly the calmest of people either," he said with a sly smile. It wasn't usually his place to tease others, but perhaps it was okay with him?

The ginger raised his eyebrows with a grin. "You gettin' smart on me, Double Dork?"

He merely gave a shrug in response, looking down a bit while the smile was still on his face.

"Well, you're lucky we're in our house, otherwise I'd totally be getting you back for that," he said jokingly, his own smile still on his face.

Edd was about to say something when his chin was suddenly tilted up, and the jock's face was very,  _very_  close to his own. He felt his face get hot, and it took everything in him to not let his mouth gape open like a fish out of water. No, he had to just stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.

What even was he doing, though? The other boy's eyes were just resting upon him, and he was unsure if he was going to do something or was looking at him closely.

He was silently hoping it was the first one.

His hopes were let down when Kevin pulled away, crossing his arms with a look of confusion on his face.

"What happened to the bruise on your eye?

Oh. So that was all it was. He let out a sigh of relief and looked the taller boy in the eye, his expression neutral.

"Marie told me about this, um, cosmetic, called concealer. She said that most people, typically females, use it to cover up any acne or blemishes on their face. She advised me that it would be good for me to put on to cover the bruise on my eye since I insisted that I was attending school today. I mean, if I didn't, I could've missed out on a very important lesson, or Eddy and Ed would have been worried about me. I told Eddy that I would be here today, so it's imperative that I make it to school today no matter what. This concealer, I think, is useful, right?" he asked, looking up to Kevin with a little bit of hope in his eyes. "I-I mean," he began again, shying away and his eyes down casting at his feet, "you asked what happened to the bruise, so I figured that-"

"Double Dweeb," the ginger said, putting a finger to Edd's mouth in order to shut him up.

This certainly caught the scholar's attention, as his eyes went right back to the other's. His face began to heat up again, and he cursed himself mentally for letting himself blush so easily. Goodness, was this really what crushes were like? Feeling embarrassed every time the person so much as came close to you? How sad it was that he was letting himself become like a teenage girl so easily!

"Hey. Are you even listening," Kevin said, flicking Edd's forehead lightly.

"Ah! M-My bad. I was lost in my thoughts. P-Please repeat what you said."

The jock sighed, but he had a grin on his face.

"I said that you don't need to freak out so much. Yeah, the concealer definitely works. Your bruise is completely covered up. Don't sweat anything, alright? And if anything happens, I-I don't know, just tell me about it and maybe I can do something? If you want, that is. I'm not going to do shit without your permission," he said a bit shyly, rubbing the back off his neck with his hand. However, he quickly regained his cool composure and added in, "But don't be afraid to tell me alright? I'm here for you and shit."

Double D pursed his lips, mumbling "Please watch your language," before smiling at his friend and laughing a bit. "Thank you for caring so much, Kevin. It's nice to know that I have your support. Although, I never imagined us being in this position. I honestly never thought that we would get out of our childhood quarrel. Of course, I'm very thankful that we have!" He looked up at Kevin as he talked, noticing the look on the other's face to be a bit harsh. It confused him for a moment before he realized why. "Oops! I'm rambling again. I apologise. Please do forgive me," he said with a small bow.

Kevin laughed. "No need to apologise so formally. S'all good."

Edd smiled. "So, Kevin, why is it that you're up so early?" He checked his watch, his eyes widening when he saw that it was now 6:01. "U-Um, on second thought, let's continue this conversation on our way to school, yes? I have extra help to attend at 7."

He walked over to his books and bag, noticing the banana in his hand and sighing.

"Need some help?" A voice behind his back said.

The scholar practically jumped. "Goodness, Kevin!" He said, turning around. "Please do not scare me like that! B-But, um, help would be much appreciated," he mumbled. "If you could carry my books I'd be very thankful."

"No prob."

The ginger grabbed his books with ease, as he only had his backpack and was barely carrying any books in there as is.

Edd put the brown paper bag in his messenger bag before putting it on over his shoulder. He took another bite of his banana as they walked to the door.

Kevin opened the door for them and Edd nodded to him in thanks since his mouth was full.

Once they were on the sidewalk, the jock began talking and the shorter continued to eat his banana.

"I'm up early because I like to take morning jogs. It helps to keep me healthy and gives me another good reason to shower, besides the obvious of keeping clean, I mean. Jogging just wakes me up in the morning, I guess. It's nice to do. I figured that after I showered I should go ahead and drop by to just have us walk to school instead of meeting up by your locker or whatever. You weren't waiting for your two dork friends, were you?"

Edd shook his head and swallowed his food. "No, u-um, I don't think they were coming, at least. I'm glad that you dropped by, however, as it certainly does make things easier for us. Perhaps we should continue going on these walks? I-If that's alright with you. I mean, I'm actually a bit unsure as to how you're completely okay with this, though. I-If one of your friends sees you talking to me, won't that damage your reputation?"

Kevin stopped and looked at Edd with a look of judgement, causing the hat-wearing boy to pause as well, but he cowered in fear.

"Are you kidding me?" He said, chuckling. "Man, I don't care if they see. Most of them are jerks, and if they ask, well, I'll just tell them you're tutoring me or some shit and that we're finalizing when we're gonna meet. They'd understand; they know how smart you are."

The scholar raised his eyebrows for a moment before sighing of relief and smiling. The two began to walk again as Edd spoke, a new look of confusion appearing on his face.

"Wait, they actually pay attention to me?"

The ginger's face changed to one of panic for a second before it went back to a smile (albeit it looked like a nervous one) and he laughed to cover up any fear.

"Yeah, of course. We hear you on the announcements all the time and shit for being, like, the one to win for the Science team or whatever the hell it is that you're on."

"Science Olympiads. And Math Olympiads. Also, I am on the swimming team as well, so, there's that, I suppose. Although I'm not sure if I've ever received a specific announcement just for an achievement I made."

Kevin nodded. "Well, yeah, they know about your brains. A lot of people are actually kind of jealous of you," he said, putting his hands behind his head as they walked.

"What?!" Edd asked in surprise.

This caused the ginger to chuckle. "Yeah. I mean, they want to have successful lives, and you obviously have a good path with how smart you are. You could probably go into any field you wish, that required using your brain, of course, and be amazing at it. It's insane how smart you are, Double D."

A light blush rose to the ravenette's cheeks. "T-Thank you, Kevin. I truly appreciate the compliment."

The jock grinned. "No prob. So, anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk about? It was about ideas for shit we could do while chilling at one of our places tomorrow?" He paused, then talked again. "Ah, shit, sorry, language. I mean, fuck. Shit." He stopped walking and put a hand on his forehead for a moment before looking back to Edd with a shy smile. "Sorry."

The scholar laughed as they began to walk again. "Goodness, Kevin. I do appreciate your hard effort to keep your mouth clean while with me. It's actually a very kind thing of you to do. Now, I was thinking that perhaps while we were at one of our houses we could do something as simple as watch a movie or two. However," he bit his bottom lip, "I also had in mind that we could have a tutoring session? U-Um, please do not detest me for this, but I overheard you and Nazz talking one day about your current state in Calculus. I mean, of course, you don't have to allow me to help you, but I would feel bad if I had known you needed help and allowed you to fail the class without even bothering to try and help you! It is your choice, but I wouldn't mind assisting you in performing exemplary in that class."

Kevin looked shocked for a moment as they walked, but sighed.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you overheard that conversation. But, I think I'm thankful for it. I wanted to ask for a tutor, and Nazz was telling me to go and ask you specifically, but I mean, I was just kind of afraid that you'd think I was dumb," he admits, a slight pink rising to his cheeks.

"Oh, Kevin! I could never think that you were dumb. Every person has their struggles with something. There are things that I don't understand. While they aren't necessarily school related, they are things that are important in my daily life in the future, and it's imperative that I have this knowledge, but it isn't easy for me to pick up. Perhaps you could assist me in learning what I need to and I could help you with Calculus," Edd replied, smiling over at the other boy.

The ginger furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the scholar. "What could you possibly be struggling with?"

The ravenette's eyes casted down as he sighed. "I had a feeling you would ask. Well," he looked back up at the jock. "I struggle with my social skills. I lack them quite a bit. I am close with Ed, Eddy, and Marie, but there is still so much I am unaware of. I don't know a lot of things about all of the cliques or about people lying or 'backstabbing' as people say. A lot of buzzwords go right passed me and I'm unsure of what they mean. I was thinking that since you're so popular perhaps you wouldn't mind assisting me learning about the ways of a common teenager?"

Kevin was thankful that Edd (probably?) could read minds. Otherwise he would know just how much he was obsessing over how fucking adorable he was. Holy shit. Did he really ask him to help with his  _social skills_? Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Wow.

He nodded, trying to keep composure. "Yeah, I don't mind helping. It'll be beneficial for the both of us, so that's cool with me. Maybe we could do it at your house, though? I mean, if we're doing the tutoring thing. My dog can be loud sometimes, and, well, I don't know if I want my dad barging in. He's kind of embarrassing, so, yeah. If you want to come to my house that's fine, but I'm just warning you," he teased, grinning at his crush.

Edd smiled innocently. "Well, if you say so. I don't mind it being at my house. It's as quiet as ever in there. I don't know if I could ever own a dog or cat as a pet. I'm very used to my insects for company. They're quiet. Although," he put a finger on his chin as he pondered, "I've heard that cats can be quiet. They're also known to make messes, though, if I am correct."

The ginger shrugged. "I got no idea. I've only owned a dog. She's cute, I gotta admit. Sweet, too. But she's definitely a barker. She rarely bites, though. Unless you're playing with her. Then she'll just nibble on your fingers and hands." He smiles as he thinks about his dog. She was good company, and definitely always listened to him whenever he had to complain about (Nat) things.

The scholar felt quite happy that the jock was opening up to him a little. It was something simple, but how many football players would admit that they love playing with their dogs? It was cute that he was like that.

"That sounds nice. However, I'll stick with my insects, thank you," he said with a small laugh before looking ahead of them. "Oh, would you look at that; the school is right up ahead. I'm surprised at how quick of a walk this was!"

"Well, you know what they say; time flies when you're having fun. Or, whatever, I don't know if that can be applied to this situation but, uh, yeah." Kevin blushed a little and bit his bottom lip. He sounded  _so_  stupid right now. Nothing could get worse than this.

"Oh my god, Double Delicious and my main man Kev! What are you guys doing here walking together? Especially so early?"

The ginger took that back. It just got worse.

"Nathan! What a pleasure it is to see you this morning! Kevin and I were just discussing our plans for tomorrow. We were thinking of having a tutoring session since he needs assistance in one of his classes. Of course, I am more than happy to accompany him in excelling in the class!" Edd said excitedly.

Nathan laughed. "Hot damn, who would've known you're that eccentric about teaching people shit? That's cute, Double Delectable. Why don't you tutor me in learning about the body?" He said coolly, looking at the scholar with a seductive expression on his face.

Kevin quickly stepped between them. "Hey, Nat, why don't you take your sickness somewhere else? Double D isn't going to tutor you in anything."

"W-Well," Edd began to stammer out, "If he were to need help in one of his main classes, I would certainly love to help you! But I do believe I see where he was going with that previous question, and I apologise, Nathan, but I am not interested in tutoring in such a lewd way. I'm sure you can find someone else who is willing you help you with your troubles. Perhaps James could assist you? You two seem to have quite the relationship stirring. And I see him right over there," he whispered, pointing in the direction of where said boy was.

The teal-haired boy's eyebrows went up as he turned around to see if what the ravenette said was true. Thankfully, it was.

He turned to him, saying a quick "Thank you" before running over to James and yelling "Samantha! How are you doing, buttercup?"

"Who the fuck is Samantha and why-" Rave said as he turned around and groaned, seeing it was the boy he disliked the most out of everyone. "Fuck  _off_ , Goldberg. I don't have time for your shit, today."

Edd and Kevin stood next to each other and watched the two talk (well, it was basically that James was yelling at Nathan and Nathan kept trying to use numerous pickup lines to seduce James) back and forth as they walked into the school.

"Those two are definitely meant for each other," Kevin said, grinning. "They're probably going to fuck someday, if I had to guess. So, good choice, Double Dweeb. Didn't know you thought like that, though."

The shorter turned to the jock with a look of shock on his face. "W-Well, I may or may not have heard stories from James himself about what goes on between the two, so, I figured that perhaps it wasn't  _that_  bad of an idea to have Nathan talk to him," he said innocently. "Also, I noticed that you didn't want him here, so it seemed like a perfect distraction, and perfect timing, in my opinion," he added quietly. It was practically giving away that he had a crush on Kevin now. Oh, how embarrassing!

"Hah, I agree. And, hey, don't worry. Nat tells me a bunch of shit about the two of them that I don't care to listen to. But, you know him. Or, I assume you do by now. He's always talking about something whether you care about it or not. I guess it's kind of nice since it means that I don't have to talk. But, shit, he gets annoying sometimes."

Edd laughs. "I can understand where you're coming from, Kevin. Now, why don't we get into school? It feels a bit weird for me to stand out here. Usually I walk right in and go to my locker."

The two began walking, and when they passed a garbage can, Edd threw out the banana peel.

"Yeah, I got ya. I usually stay out until first bell sometimes and talk with the guys on the team or with Nazz. It's cold, though, so we don't do it as often now. But, as soon as spring rolls around we'll be out here in the mornings. Sometimes we even have little games of football or whatever before class starts. It's fun," Kevin says with a shrug, finding what he says to be something nonchalant.

However, these bits and pieces of the jock's personality meant  _everything_  to the scholar, as ridiculous as that was. He wanted to learn a lot about him. This was probably another one of those problems about having a crush, he was sure. You feel so much for them that you never want to be apart. Goodness, that was how he was feeling right now! How absurd. His face flushed a bit from the realization.

"You alright, Double Dork? You're getting a little red. You aren't sick, right?" The ginger asked, his voice sounding concerned.

The raventte gasped in surprise. "Oh! N-No, Kevin, I'm fine. It's just the cold getting to me."

Kevin's eyebrows drew together as he stopped and looked at Edd, which caused said boy to stop as well.

"But we're inside."

The cyan eyes of the shorter widened as he realized that they were well inside the school. In fact, they were right near the steps he used to get to his locker. The red on his face increased.

"U-Uh, w-well, I, hah, u-um, have to g-go to extra help n-now! I can't b-be late! I will talk t-to you af-after school, maybe? G-Goodbye, Kevin!" He quickly stuttered out, swiftly making his way up to the floor that the extra help, and evidently his first class, was on.

" _You are so foolish_!" He thought to himself.

It didn't take any social skills to know that Kevin was certainly not going to let this down.

Curses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking 3 weeks (and 1 day) to update! I've been stuck on what to write, but I kind of just spat this out? It's 5,500+ words, which I hope is enough. Also, I was sooooo tired when I wrote this so I hope that it's okay. If it isn't please inform me on what I need to rewrite so it makes sense. I would hate to repeat myself too many times in a paragraph or something sounds OOC.
> 
> I would also like to REMIND you all that I have a separate slightly smutty work that corresponds to last chapter! Feel free to read and give me criticism on how I did. I want to make sure I'm writing it right so that way when I add it in on THIS story it turns out okay! 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please fill me in on any spelling/grammar mistakes and don't forget to review!
> 
> -WADD


	15. After School Chats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a nice little reminder that I do have a short little NSFW one-shot for practice of smut that will be in this story (hopefully?). I would appreciate any of you to read it and give me criticism since I am not very talented in the smut field! It should be the story right under this one on my profile. Thank you!

The school hours passed by slowly. It was almost killing Kevin that he still had more than three periods left to attend.

Currently, it was his lunch period. He thought the school lunches were utterly disgusting, so he always brought his own lunch. It would be a death sentence if he were to ever spend money on the shit they dared to call "food" here. Hell. Fucking. No.

He sat down at his usual table and took the food his dad prepared out of the brown paper bag. It was a banana, some grapes, and a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He grabbed his water bottle out of the side pocket of his bag and put it beside the food.

Although most people in the school knew he had no mother, he wasn't exactly fond of people letting people know that his father cooked. It was something that couldn't be helped, given their situation, but even he knew how cruel the kids here were. They wouldn't pass up a chance to make fun of someone's father for cooking despite the crucial reason for it. That reason in itself constituted as to why he disliked this school so damn much.

The ginger wanted to continue frowning and cursing the people around him, but his friends walked over. Or, at least, that's why they called themselves. Everyone just wanted to get along well with him since he was the football captain and were hoping for the position. How lame.

"Hey, Kev! What's up, man?" One of the current seniors said as he sat right next to him.

He was someone who was hoping for the position that Kevin claimed, and there was a huge argument in the beginning of the year about how two juniors should have both captain and co-captain positions. Blah, blah, blah.

"Sup," he stated more than asked. He was already disinterested in whatever he had to say.

"So, dude, there's this party going on Saturday. Me and the boys were wonderin' if you would come? You'd attract a hell of a lot of attention and we want this to be one of the biggest parties for this year. The ones hosting it are all seniors so we want it to be a big fucking party, ya dig? And since you're the football captain, you know how much the chicks like ya. So why don't you drop by at six at Mark's house, yeah?"

"The boys and I," Kevin said as he picked at a grape. He realized what he did as he chewed the grape and turned his head away slightly. Shit. Shit shit shit. He was picking up some of the dork's quirks.

The senior gave him a weird look. "What?"

Obviously he didn't understand what the ginger was referring to, so he turned to him and said, "You said 'me and the boys.' It's 'the boys and I,'" before whirling back to his food and biting into the sandwich.

He wasn't looking at him, but he could feel the glare that was on him.

"What are you, some 'Grammar Nazi'? Come on, man. Anyways, are you coming or not? We'd love to have you there. Plus, we were thinking of pulling a prank on those Ed guys or whatever-the-fuck they are. You know, the group that always hangs out in three. We wanna invite them and do some funny shit to them that no one will forget. One that'll completely ruin their senior year, ya know? How fucking hilarious would it be? Besides, don't you have some problems with the short one? That'd be a great way to show him to back off wouldn't it?"

Kevin couldn't believe his ears. Was this guy really saying this?

"No."

The senior's eyebrows furrowed and his face turned into one of disdain. "The fuck do you mean 'no'? C'mon, dude. You're trying to tell me you don't want to make their last year and a half of high school shitty? It'll be fun!"

The jock shook his head and finally looked at the senior. He wasn't letting this happen. "No. I don't find fun in that shit. There's no need to make someone else's life horrible in order to benefit your own. Don't you have some better way of making yourself happy other than enjoying other people's suffering? That's a new low, even for you. I don't want to talk about this anymore." With that, he faced his food once more.

A laugh came from the older male. "Haha, okay. Fine. I'll just invite them to come myself. No fucking way would they pass up a party if I told them they're the number one guests. I'll make them come. Just you fucking wait, Barr."

Kevin rolled his eyes. Yeah, okay, like they would actually attend that party. How stupid could they be? Especially Edd. Edd wouldn't want to go to that party, right? There was no way he would really believe that that guy was serious. No.

* * *

School finally ended, and the ginger raced out of his final period class to make his way to Nazz's locker. If he was correct, Nat would already be waiting there. After all, the two had the same last period together. Damn, if only he had it with them. It would definitely make some funny times; that was for sure.

When he climbed up the main set of stairs and reached her locker, he instead found no sign of Nat but actually a blue-haired female socializing with her instead.

What the hell?

He slowly leaned in but tried to be discreet so he wouldn't get caught.

"So, are you free after school sometime this week? We should really catch up. Maybe go out to dinner or whatever, maybe? I don't want to sound sappy or anything, but I miss you." The bluenette blushed after saying this, shaking her head. "That sounded so sappy. Forget that I said that," she added with a laugh.

Nazz giggled. "Marie, please. I miss you as well!" She said happily, grabbing the other female's hands and holding them tightly. "I'll definitely make sure that I find time for us to hang out. And, yeah, dinner sounds absolutely perfect! I'm busy with Nat and Kevin today," she began, looking around to see if either boy was on their way here before looking back at the girl and continuing, "but I'm probably free for the rest of the week. Just choose your pick for whichever day you'd like to hang out. I'd love for us to catch up, too!"

At this moment, she leaned in close and whispered something to Marie which didn't reach Kevin ears. However, it made the bluenette laugh, so maybe it was some inside joke.

"I'll see you later, Nazz," the girl said with a smile before walking away, turning a corner.

Kevin decided to wait till she was out of sight and till the blonde was busy getting the books she needed from her locker before walking up beside her and tapping her shoulder. He didn't want her to think he was eavesdropping.

"Oh!" She dropped a book and it landed right near her foot. Her eyes flickered up to see who had tapped her, and she grinned when she saw it was her beloved friend. "Hey, Kev! Where's Nat?" She asked, searching behind him to look for the other male.

The ginger shrugged as he bent down to pick up the book and hand it to her as she thanked him. "No idea. He's probably flirting with that James guy or whatever. If we wait here I'm sure he'll appear soon."

Nazz laughed. "Ah, right. I almost forgot he had a thing for that actor. James actually isn't as bad as everyone seems to think he is, though, you know? Nat just brings out his asshole side and so a lot of people assume he is really just a jerk. But, you know, since the musical is in the works, I've been talking with him a lot and he's super cool," she said, laughing. "I think he would make a perfect pair with Nat."

Kevin groaned. "Not you, too."

The blonde quirked a brow. "What do you mean?" She asked, stuffing the rest of her books in her bag and shutting the locker, making sure it was closed.

"Ah, um, we'll save that till we go somewhere private. It's not something to discuss in public," he said anxiously, tapping his pointer finger on the side of his leg.

The cheerleader noticed this and grinned. "I got ya. Okay, we'll wait till we get to the diner."

Several seconds later, they saw a teal-haired teen making their way over to them while winking at girls and boys he passed by. The ginger and the blonde glanced at each other and shared a roll of their eyes.

He strutted over to his friends, grinning at them.

"Sup amigos. What's goin' on?"

Nazz smiled politely. "We were just waiting for you." She grabbed Kevin's arm and leaned against him. "Kevin has some juicy stuff to tell us! I think it's about you-know-who," she added quietly, grinning and raising her eyebrows. Her whole face displayed excitement.

Said boy nudged her. "Do you have to go and say shit like that, Nazz? Besides, I have a voice of my own, so I could've just told him," he said, pursing his lips and blushing a bit. Talking about  _him_  always caused him to feel a little embarrassed. His two friends always had to make a big deal out of it, which he thought was ridiculous. It was just a stupid crush. Okay, maybe it wasn't stupid.

Nathan laughed. "Well I can't wait for you to share what's going on with your lovely voice, Kev. Let's get out of here, yeah? I'm starving."

The other two agreed and the trio walked down the main steps and right outside of the door. Little did they know, two other people had heard their conversation.

* * *

Marie raised an eyebrow at Edd as she watched him close his locker. She noticed that his face had gone to a light shade of pink, and she was pretty sure she knew what had caused that. She put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump when he faced her. His head went down, causing her to laugh.

"You okay, Edd? Your face is like a strawberry. Is something bothering you?" She asked with a grin. She knew what was "bothering" him, but she loved to tease him anyway. As of right now, he was pouting and currently trying to muster a response. It was rewarding to know that the sassy scholar had turned to almost nothing just by those words coordinating with the event. Of course this was only platonically. She would utterly hate it if he was actually upset and she seriously hurt his feelings by doing this.

Finally, the boy looked up at her and spoke. He said, "Marie, you know w-what is troubling me." He put a hand under his chin with a thoughtful look on his face. "I honestly cannot believe that I appear to be the sole subject of what deemed as 'exciting' to them, as Nazz put it. Speaking of Nazz," he glanced up at the bluenette, "How are things going with her? Have you attempted to further the development of your possible romantic relationship with her?"

Now it was her time to blush. "Well," she began, "before I came over here I asked her if she wanted to hang out afterschool sometime this week. She said that she'll check out if she's free or not, and then she'll get back to me. She said that she was probably free. She, also, uh, said she missed me," she added, murmuring the last sentence. It filled her with joy to know that her feelings of friendship were reciprocated, at least. Hopefully the two of them could be more than "just friends."

Edd smiled. "Isn't that a great start!" He exclaimed more than asked. "I'm glad for you, Marie," he said, putting a hand on the female's shoulder. "I hope the two of you work out. Although, I'm currently having trouble with my own possible relationship."

The two began walking down the main steps as he continued.

"I would hope that he would share the same feelings as I do. If that is not the case, then I'm sure I'll be able to survive. I think I'll be slightly disappointed, however. I have no romantic feelings for anyone else. Oh dear," he said suddenly, realizing something important.

Marie looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Something the matter, D? What happened?"

The ravenette shook his head. "I-It's nothing important. It's just that I remembered something someone told me recently. I suppose I could tell you, but please do promise me that you won't say a word about this to anyone."

He held out his pinky finger, looking at the female as she nodded and wrapped her pinky around his. They touched thumbs with their fingers still interlocked, smiling as they released the grip.

"So," she began as they left the school, "what is it that's on your mind? Does it have to do with your soon-to-be-boyfriend?" She asked, grinning at him even when he elbowed her in the side.

His face flushed. "N-No, it is not about  _him_ , and we don't even know if he will be my boyfriend, but Marie please keep your mouth quiet! We are on school grounds and the last thing I need is word slipping about, well, you know," he said shyly. "I will have you know that it is actually about, um, Eddy."

She quirked a brow. "Eddy? Did that punk do something to you?" She questioned, getting a little defensive. It took her a moment but she noticed this, remembering that the two were also best friends, so there was no need to be angry. "I mean, anything out of the ordinary? Did he go too far or something?"

Edd shook his head. "No, no, he didn't make me upset. Quite the opposite, actually. You see, Marie," he began, looking at her, "he confessed something to me Saturday night. Let me start from the beginning."

* * *

The trio sat down at the diner, in the midst of waiting for their food. They always ordered the same thing when they came here unless there was a new item on the menu. Today was not one of those days, however.

"So, Kev, what were you referring to before we left the school? Like, about what I said about Nat and James. Who else says what I say, hm?" The blonde already had a feeling she knew exactly who he was talking about. She hoped she wasn't wrong.

Kevin sighed. "I'm sure you've already guessed. Double Dweeb said something about them."

"Wait, wait, wait," Nat piped up, "Nazz and Double Delicious have been talking about Victoria and I? Damn, what's the reason for that? Are you attracted by our devilishly good looks? I know I am. And I mean that for both of us," he said, a cocky smirk on his face.

Nazz laughed while the other male groaned.. "Apparently we both talked about how you two would look good together." She looked over at the ginger. "Did he really say something like that? When did he say that?"

Said male turned to his female friend as she asked. "Yeah, he said it this morning. He noticed that kid walking not too far from us and, well, used it as a diversion to get Nat off our asses," he answered with a grin, looking at the teal-haired male who pouted in response.

"Double Delectable didn't want me there? That's a shame. I was hoping to get to know him better, if you know what I mean," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Dude. Shut up. You've been going after Rave for months now and I have my eyes on the dork. You don't need to get to know him better, especially in the way that you're suggesting. Would you like it if I started flirting with him?"

Nathan laughed. "Sorry to tell ya, Kev, but I don't think he would  _ever_  like you like that. You two just don't seem compatible. On top of that, you don't look good together." He put his fingers together as if taking a picture.

Nazz nodded, doing the same thing as the teal-haired friend and then shook her head. "Nope, you two wouldn't fit. It just wouldn't look right. However," she put her fingers together the same way, but this time was focusing on Nat. "You wouldn't look bad with James, though. I could see you two being together at some point or something."

The ginger's face looked unamused as he watched what the two were doing. The other male was now fist pumping in victory of the female's words. He found it kind of ridiculous, but then again, he kind of wondered what he looked like if he were to be paired up with Edd. Would they fit each other? He liked to think they would. Before he could stop himself, the words came out of his mouth.

"Do you think that I'd look good with him?"

Both the blonde and teal-hair turned to look at him. They quickly glanced at each other to share a grin before looking back and nodding.

"Dude, of course you two would look cute together! I can't see you guys with anyone else, to be honest," the female said, smiling.

"Yeah, I agree. You're like two puzzle pieces. Two that go together, of course. You guys were probably made for each other or something."

Kevin nodded slowly. "Well, I think we're hanging out tomorrow after school, so I'm thinking of, I don't know, maybe making a move? I don't know if the time is right. We've only been talking for four days, so wouldn't it be too soon? God, I sound fucking stupid. I would just like to not fuck anything up," he said, pursing his lips. Why did this shit have to be so confusing?

Nazz shook her head. "Kev, I don't think you ever truly know if the timing is right. Maybe you can test the waters a little bit with him, see if he reciprocates. Maybe you can watch a movie and put your arm around him slowly. If he moves away, he might not share the feelings. But there is a chance that's he's uncomfortable as well. I'm sure you and I both know pretty well that he hasn't had any previous relationships before us. At least, it doesn't seem that way. Go slow with him. Make sure he can trust you and ask for his consent before going too far. Of course the exception is putting your arm around him since you just want to check how he feels, which is okay." She sighed. "I want this to work out as much as you do." She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Nat hummed. "Hmmm, this isn't fair. I don't like that I'm being left out of this conversation."

The ginger shook his head. "Don't blame us for you not being here all these years. We have a long history with him. Actually, we have a long history with all of the dorks. We went to the same elementary and the same middle school and live right next to each other." He grinned. "It isn't our fault you decided to come in late. Why don't you introduce yourself to the other two dweebs properly? You've already met Double D, so you don't need to meet him again."

"What? No 'Dork' added on this time? Aw, Kev, are you learning to start respecting him? You know how I told you that if you keep calling him that he'll be less inclined to date you. I'm so proud!" She said, clasping her hands together.

Said boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'm considering what you said. If I want him to like me I have to take this seriously." His cheeks has a slight dust of red to them since he was ashamed to admitting this. He knew it was the right thing to do but that didn't mean he would like to say that it was his plan. After all, he was supposed to keep up a cool, bad boy demeanor. But he knew better than to push Edd away like this. It wouldn't end right for either of them.

Just then, the waitress came over, placing their food on the table. They all thanked her and began to eat.

Several minutes later, the conversation picked up again.

"So, changing the subject now," Nathan said, clapping his hands. "There's a party this on Saturday being held by this senior named Mark. Daniel came over and asked me if I was going to go. I was thinking about it, 'cause, ya know, it's a party! Why the hell not, am I right? You guys in?"

"Sure!" Nazz chirped.

"No," Kevin said immediately.

The two looked at him, their eyebrows raised.

"Why not, Kev? You usually like joining us at parties. Or are you trying to refrain from doing that shit 'cause you might be tied down sometime soon, hm? Don't be afraid to admit it. It's okay." The teal-haired said with a grin.

"Listen, Daniel told me he was planning to do something to someone at that party." He found no reason to hold it in. He didn't even like the senior, let alone know his name. "And it wasn't just anyone. He said he wanted to make the Eds' senior year shitty by inviting them to the party and pulling some crappy prank on them. I already told him I wasn't in on it, and he got pissed. He said he was going to make them come by telling them they're the 'number one guests.' I don't think Double D would fall for it in the least, but God Eddy's ego is so big that he probably wouldn't miss it for the world.

Both of his friends' mouths opened. It was clear they didn't expect this to happen. Of course, neither did Kevin when he had heard it.

Nazz was the first to speak after they spent a couple of minutes in silence, eating their food and absorbing what they just heard.

"So, wait, they seriously want to do some mean thing to them? That is so  _not_  cool. What have they even done to them? I would never dream of doing something horrible to  _anyone_ , let alone guys who haven't bothered me."

Nat nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Did he say anything else?"

"He told me that if I went it would cause most of the damn school to go simply because I'm the football captain. I didn't want to go from the beginning, but as soon as he told me that he was pulling that prank I knew I wouldn't be going."

Kevin was practically enraged by this whole thing, but he tried not to show it. He knew he used to be a bully in the past (and quite a mean one at that), but those days were over. All he wanted to do was focus on his future and not harm other people. He would think that maybe these guys would notice considering he hadn't shown any mean behavior since the end of his freshman year.

The blonde sighed. "Well, we obviously can't let them go the party knowing that's going to happen. So do you have a plan, Kev? Can we do anything to prevent them from going? I mean, you're right about Eddy. He probably would want to go if he was told he was the guest of honor. There has to be  _something_  we can do, right? I would hate to see them get laughed at because of some dumb seniors who wanted to get a good laugh. It's not even like they'll be attending the school next year, so why would they want to do that?" She had a pout on her face, clearly upset about the matter.

"Well," the ginger began, "I'm going to be hanging out with Edd tomorrow. I'll probably warn him about it or something. Tell him that if anyone told him about a party and that he was the 'guest of honor' then he shouldn't attend it. I don't know if it's going to work, but I figured I might as well give it a shot, right?" He looked at his two best friends, silently hoping he would get their approval. That he was going to be doing the right thing.

It seemed like each of them were running his plan through in his head, thinking of the possible outcomes from him doing this.

"Edd is a nice, understanding guy, Kev. I think that he would be a little surprised at you for telling him this since he might think that you would like to pull a prank on him or something, but I'm sure he'd agree with you eventually." She pondered of what she said for a moment before shaking her hands in front of her. "But I mean that in the way that he might not be familiar with you yet. He's probably still used to your bullying ways, you know?

Said boy nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Nazz," he said with a sigh. "I wish he was already used to me or realized that I don't intend on bullying him anymore. Those days are long gone."

"Well, can't this be a way for you to show him that? I mean, all ya gotta do is prove to him that this party is definitely some bad shit for him and then he'll believe that you're actually a friendly guy," Nathan piped up after swallowing a bite of his burger. "Then you can make your move on him and he'll swoon over how amazing you are for saving him! It's  _the_  perfect plan for you two to end up together, don't you think? I know I think so." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms with a smug look on his face.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Nat. I'm not going to do something like that. I know that he  _definitely_  won't act that way after this. It's just not how he is. And, besides, that's not even how I want it to happen, anyways. It'd be totally stupid for him to just admire me after something tiny like that. That's just basic human decency."

The female pursed her lips. "You're right, Kev. It is basic human decency. However, like we've been saying, he doesn't see you in that light completely yet, right? He must think that you're still used to your old bullying ways. I'm sure he knows about how many arguments you and Eddy have had even though the New Year  _just_  started. Maybe he feels you still have another prank you want to pull to make their lives miserable? I mean, I can't really picture myself in his shoes but if I had to try to, I could see why he would be slow in accepting your friendship. It's nice that you two are spending time. You did always like him the best of the three, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I did. I think he's spending time with me 'cause he's a nice guy like that. I think he genuinely wants to be my friend, too. And maybe he realizes that I did prefer him over the other two. Eddy is annoying as all fucking hell and Ed is just stupid. When does any of the shit he say make even a small amount of sense?" He took a bite of his burger, shaking his head as he did so. Ed was a nice guy but all of his weird analogies were confusing.

Nat snapped his fingers. "Ed is on our football team, isn't he? Tall, kind of lanky guy who's also a ginger?"

Both the female and other male nodded in unison.

"Yeah, I thought so. So, wait, he's friends with Double Dynamite? And this Eddy guy you talk about," he said slowly, "Can you describe him? The name sounds kind of familiar."

Nazz nodded her head. "Yeah, I can. He ate dinner with us just this past Friday, actually. He's a short guy. Shorter than you, even," she said with a laugh. "He has black hair and kind of has a short temper. No glasses, usually dresses like—"

"A tool," Kevin finished for her.

"Kev!"

"What? I'm just speaking the truth." He turned to the teal-haired boy. "That asshole likes to think that he's the shit or something just because his brother owns a bunch of porn magazines and has this fancy room. His brother actually isn't even that cool, to be honest. I used to be kind of intimidated 'cause of how tall he was and whatever, but he's just as much as a piece of shit as Eddy. That's probably where he got his attitude from, if I'm being honest. You don't want to know who Eddy is, Nat. Just keep your distance from him and you'll be fine."

Nathan clapped his hands. "Ah, you're right, Nazz! I remember him from when we ate here. He didn't talk that much, actually. Kind of seemed to keep to himself. Are you telling me he isn't always like that?"

Kevin shook his head. "Hell fucking no he isn't. He is nosy as fuck and will probably pick a fight with anyone who asks, even if he knows he can't win. He just does it because he has too much pride that he doesn't want to let go. It is the dumbest shit to me, honestly. I don't get why he can't just accept that he isn't that great. Like, damn, not even I have that big of an ego," he said, leaning back onto his seat.

Both of his friends looked at him, causing him to quirk a brow at them.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

The blonde laughed. "Kev, your ego is as big as the sun. You can be  _so_  full of yourself sometimes. I actually have to say that I think the reason why you and Eddy don't get along is since you two are too much alike to one another. You can be kind of nosy yourself, you know. And you like to think that you are just  _soooo_  cool.

Kevin was in the middle of taking a sip from his drink when she said that, almost spitting it out, but not quite. "The fuck, Nazz? You  _seriously_ think that I'm  _anything_ like that prick? Come on."

She nodded, standing her ground. "I'm sure both of you even have something traumatic you can bond over if you two try. I'm just saying, both of you would probably get along if you give a shot. I think it's a friendship that's worth striving for.  _Especially_  if you want to be with Edd. You do realize that Eddy is, like, totally his best friend, right? If you do something bad to him you have the possibility of messing things up with Double D. Does that sound nice?"

Of course she had left him at a loss for words. Somehow, she always managed to do that in one way or another. That was one thing that the ginger truly admired about her. She was so intelligent about things like this. Maybe school wasn't exactly her strong point, but she was good at helping others in social situations and helping people get along or work with one another, which was something he found to be amazing. He kind of wished that he had that trait.

"So, anyway, are we going to stop this party or not? I mean, if the 'Guests of Honor' don't show, then are they still going to continue the fun?" Nat asked.

Nazz shrugged. "There's a possibility they'll continue it. I think that it just won't be that big of a party if there is no prank involved. I have a feeling they'll be coaxing people into coming by telling them that there will be some big surprise or whatever. Something like that. And if it doesn't come true then it's more than likely that people are going to end up leaving the party, aren't they?"

The co-captain nodded. "Yeah. We should still have a back-up plan in case they do continue the party. Make sure that they don't plan to do anything at school since they didn't get the chance to at the party because they didn't show up. As much as I'd like to believe they wouldn't publicly humiliate them in school, I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

"Then lets come up with a back-up plan," Kevin said with a nonchalant shrug. "It's better we do this now before it's too late, isn't it?"

* * *

The blunette stood up from sitting down on her friend's steps from the surprise. "Oh my god. No fucking way. You have  _got_ to be shitting me, Edd There is  _no_  way he actually has a  _crush_  on you!" She exclaimed loudly.

They were, thankfully, near Edd's house, so hopefully many people from school didn't hear this. And even then, most people wouldn't have a single clue about who they were talking about if they  _did_  happen to hear the conversation. This caused a slight relief to wash through the genius.

Double D shrugged. "H-He did, Marie. I personally presume that he has liked me for quite a while. Perhaps ever since in middle school when Kevin had dared him to kiss me. Maybe that was when he found out that he felt romantic attraction to me. I do believe that  _he_  believes we have a chance at a relationship in the future. It's a bit nerve-wracking, but there isn't much I can do. As much as I love Eddy  _platonically_ , I cannot see myself in a romantic relationship with him. I am afraid that I like Kevin too much for that," he said with a small sigh.

"Then tell him that, Double D! Don't just leave him hanging, waiting to know when his feelings will be returned when, in reality, they never will be. I wouldn't want someone to hide that from me, and I'm sure that if you were in his place, saying this to Kevin, you wouldn't want him to just brush you off, right? You would want him to tell you bluntly that he doesn't think he could be with you because he has his eyes on someone else. And, listen, don't take this seriously, okay? I'm sure you two will end up together."

If he were to be honest, he was actually a little upset at the thought of Kevin not reciprocating his romantic feelings. However, there would be nothing he could do, right? He would just have to move on and find the right person for him to be with.

He nodded. "Yes, you are right, Marie."

"I know I am."

He laughed. "I would take that compliment back if it wasn't true. I'm not quite sure about any others, however."

She mock gasped. "Are you saying that if you were to have called me pretty or intelligent that it wouldn't be true? Gosh, Edd. I didn't think that you could be so evil. That actually hurts me a little bit, you know? I thought we were best friends," she said with a pout.

The ravenette smiled at her. He was so happy they were friends.

"We are friends, Marie. I want us to remain this way for a very long time. Perhaps even until we die; I would love for us to be best friends."

She snorted, punching him lightly in the arm. "Damn, dude, you are  _sooo_  sappy. It reminds me of how I was with Nazz today. Ugh, speaking of her, I am  _such_  a loser. I just can't keep my cool around her. What the hell is wrong with me? I just want to be cool and collected and I end up fumbling and stuttering like an idiot."

Edd put a hand on her shoulder. "It isn't your fault, Marie. I feel the exact way when I am around Kevin. It is just what happens when you have a crush on someone, doesn't it?" He checked his watch for a brief moment. "Oh, dear! If you excuse me, I have to go. I only have so much free time in the day, after all. I will talk with you tomorrow, Marie! Or later, perhaps."

Marie laughed. "Okay, dork. I'll text you tonight. Maybe send a text to Kevin or your other friends or something, yeah?"

He nodded. "Yes, certainly. Have a safe walk home," he said before opening the door to his house, waving goodbye before he closed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 6,000 words. Phew.
> 
> Ah, jeez, sorry this took about 3 weeks to update. I keep wanting to upload it on a single day each week. As in, a chapter every Friday or every Saturday, but I just can't seem to do it. Sorry!
> 
> School has started up again, so that will keep me busy. However, I am going to continue with this story, so do not worry! Just expect the chapters to be uploaded sporadically.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please review~.
> 
> -WADD


	16. The Start of Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the bottom notes as it so so so so so utterly important that you do. Kind of. To me it is. So yeah.

"Marie! Get your lazy ass out of bed! Unless you want to miss school and fail and make a fool of the Kanker family!"

The voice was right in her ears as she jumped out of bed, putting her hands over said place. She groaned and narrowed her eyes at the source of the noise.

Of course, it was her sister, Lee. Damn, why was she always saying things like that? Wasn't she going a little overboard with that statement? Besides, Marie wasn't even  _that_  bad.

"I'll be the one making the fool of the Kanker family? Shouldn't you be looking at someone else?" The bluenette said with a grimace, looking at May, who was behind the ginger.

May just tilted her head in confusion, the insult clearly not clicking within her brain.

Marie, not even knowing why she expected a response from the blonde, rolled her eyes. "Whatever! I'm up. I'll get ready for school. What time is it, though? You better not have woke me at the asscrack of dawn I swear to God, Lee," she began as she went over to the dresser and pulled open a few drawers to get clothes. "I need my beauty sleep, you know. Just because I'm not using it to woo Double D anymore doesn't mean I don't require it!" She yelled as she started to change.

While her tone was full of menace, this was how it went every morning. The three girls would typically fight over tiny things like sisters did. Who got to shower first, who was going to be the one using the makeup first (or who was using it all), and even who was able to hang out with friends.

Being that their mom was almost never heard from and their fathers didn't even seem to exist, Lee had to take on leadership and works two jobs whilst simultaneously tackling school. Marie looked up to her a lot, but who would actually say that? It was totally uncool.

They needed to pay bills somehow, and Marie was kind of looking for a job but not really at the same time. She was just looking to get through this year of high school so she could relax next year. If the opportunity did pop up, though, she was grab the job immediately. She felt guilty constantly for leaving Lee alone to hold up their family, so much so that sometimes she even cried and felt worthless. This didn't happen that often, but when it did she would always turn to Edd for comfort. She couldn't help it; there was a lot of guilt inside of her and she wished she was able to do more for the family.

Whatever, she shouldn't focus on that right now. It was her turn to take a shower. She pulled out some random clothes from her drawers; a new pair of underwear, a black bra, black jeans and a scarlet shirt with the words "I (picture of an actual human heart) BIOLOGY)." It was fitting as she definitely did love biology. Science was something she found to be absolutely astounding. All fields of it were pretty cool in her book. She held a belief that maybe she would go into some field of science. Maybe. Maybe not. It'd be hella cool to have the opportunity to, though.

When she walked into the bathroom, clothes in hand, she noticed Lee standing forlornly at the ground. Her eyebrows drew together and she placed a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder as to not make her jump.

"Lee? You okay?" She asked slowly as she had placed her hand. Why had the ginger suddenly gotten so sad? She was never like this. If anything, she could be a total demanding bitch or even happy and joking around sometimes. This was beginning to make the bluenette worried.

Her sister did end up jumping from the touch and voice. It was clear that it surprised her.

"O-Oh! H-Hey, Marie," she muttered, looking back at the ground after acknowledging her sister.

Marie tapped her shoulder to get her attention back on her. "Hey. Lee, what's going on? What's bothering you? You're getting me a little worried, here."

The other female shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Work has just put a lot of stress on me. I just have to trudge through this week and I'll be okay." She looked her sister in the eyes. "I mean it. If you worry, I'm gonna pound ya, okay?" She added on with a grin.

"Hah, okay, okay," Marie said, holding her hands up. "I'll try not to stress about it. But I mean, seriously," she tacked on, her tone becoming more serious, "if anything  _is_ going on, don't be afraid to tell me. We are sisters and I'm here for you just like you're here for me, okay?"

Lee nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, I know, Marie. Don't stress, though. Like I said, just work. I'll be pretty busy this week and I might not be back till ten tonight, so do you think you and May will be able to get your own food today? Or make it? Although, after last time, I don't think either of you are suited," she said, her smiling widening.

The bluenette smacked her sister's arm, albeit lightly. "Lee! It's not our fault cooking isn't our 'thing,' okay?" She said with finger quotes. "Whatever! I'm taking a shower now. Get out!" She added on, pushing her laughing older sister out the door as she slammed it on her.

When she looked in the mirror, a smile formed on her face. Yes, she knew she couldn't cook for the life of her. Probably one of her biggest flaws was that she wasn't exactly talented at much besides being a bitch. Well, she could actually draw well and was smart when it came to biology or most sciences in general. As far as life duties were concerned, she wouldn't get a high grade if it were a class. She envied the fact that Double D could cook and clean way better than she could imagine. On top of that, he never obtained lower than an A and was intensely studious. Marie often found herself leaning on him for help in, well, anything! He seemed to be great at anything.

Although, maybe socializing was his downfall. However, being social was something that could easily be gained for him. After all, if he  _were_  to end up with Barr (ew, she thinks she just barfed in her mouth), that would definitely help him with the problem. Maybe. She hoped it would.

She put her clothes for the day on the sink and began to take off her pajamas and those single pair of boxers she bought when she went shopping with her sisters that one day. That were dark blue and had hotdogs on them. Marie would said it was the funniest shit since grilled cheese, if one were to ask her. She would say this because, well, it's true! Boxers, hotdogs. Hello, total analogy for a dick! That reminds her that she also caught sight of a pair with bananas on them; that was also just perfect.

The bluenette stepped into the shower, turning on the hot water and jumping when it first came out cold.

Right, it needed to heat up first. Ugh, she hated this part of showers.

* * *

She made the shower short and simple, since they had to walk to school this morning (like they did every morning) and May still needed to take one, too.

She dried herself off with her personal cerulean towel. The three of them each had their own in order to differentiate which belonged to who. It was a smart idea that her good old friend Double D had come with. Thinking of him caused her to remember the teasing her sisters did when she suggested the idea and who the owner of it was.

They would make jokes about how she was still in love with Edd just like she had been in their middle schools days. Despite that, her two sisters knew that this wasn't the case and that she was actually interested in a female in her grade that they grew up with.

It was difficult coming out to her sisters. They had been a trio of girls that chased after a trio of boys, and it only frightened her to think about how they would react to her practically leaving that trio. Of course, she was bisexual, so it's not like she would never not like guys and gossip about some with them or hear them do it themselves, but as of right now, a blonde was her main priority.

When she voiced that to them, they both didn't care. They figured that out of the three of them, they couldn't all be straight, right?

Marie smiled at the thought.

She put on her clothes for the day before bending down and opening the cabinets under the sink to reach for the eyeshadow makeup kit they had. She opened it up, taking the eyeshadow brush and putting on her favorite shade of blue; a pale cerulean which she loved to wear daily. It was probably her signature look, if she had to say she had one.

Once that was done, she placed the eyeshadow makeup kit back under the sink and kicked it shut. She tossed her dirty clothes in the laundry basket and walked out of the bathroom, calling for May to go and take a shower so they could head to school.

She walked over to her room, taking her phone off of its charger and checking the time; 6:32. Good. The first class wasn't until 7:40, so they had plenty of time to walk there. Although, it did take a good half an hour to do so.

Wait, she had a message from Nazz, too. That was peculiar. The other female rarely ever texted her unless it was important.

She opened up the message and read it quickly.

**marie! hey! can you do me a favor and maybe come to my locker as soon as possible this morning? i need to talk to you about something reallllllly important!**

Really important? That could only leave her mind to wander to all the wonderful things Nazz might say to her.

God! She needed to not be thinking about confessions right now. It was probably something much bigger than that, and she should be devoting herself to the problem at hand. She typed a response.

**suuuure nazz. i'm not sure when i'll get there though. is it something urgent? i can leave right now if you need me to.**

She put her phone in her pocket, walking to the bathroom to make sure May was already taking her shower. If it wasn't urgent, she at least wanted to be there at a good time anyway in case it was something that needed some explaining.

Thankfully, her sister was.

Lee came racing by her, patting her on the shoulder and opening the door.

"Alright, I'm going to work! Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone!"

She closed it before Marie could even say bye.

* * *

Marie stepped outside with May and they walked to the school together, just like they did every morning. They didn't exactly have a choice but to, but that was okay.

It was dark and cold, being that it was the middle of January now (the fifteenth, to be precise), and the sun had barely shown its radiant light, which was saddening to the bluenette.

One of her favorite things had to be sunrises and sunsets. They were each filled with a beauty that could only be seen once a day. If you get up at the right time, you could see the sunrise with the pretty pinks and oranges and yellows as it began to wake everyone, who wasn't up, out of their beds to attend to the day. Sunrises were something one could catch easily if they tried hard enough. It was a simple look out of the window, or if it was something that a person truly felt love for, they would even bother to go outside of their house, maybe a drive or bike ride to the beach to witness the gorgeous incandescent colors that it brought out. How wonderful the gifts were that life gave.

Of course, she kept this all to herself, unless it was one of those deep, although rare, moments she had with Double D. He was the only one who knew of her love for the little things like sunrises and sunsets. There were more. Oh, there were many more, but she wasn't fond of talking, let alone thinking, about them.

The two girls huddled close to radiate heat off themselves and onto each other while they made their way to the daily terror they feared in order to keep warm. The elder thought that the only delightful thing about Hell (school) was the beautiful blonde that would be waiting for her at her locker.

Wow, she was seriously crushing, apparently. But she couldn't help it, Nazz was someone so cool and sweet, how could she not fall for a girl like her? As much as she didn't want to sound conceited (which she didn't think was even the correct word but whatever), but it seemed like maybe the other female was reciprocating the feeling, was something exciting. She dearly hoped it would grow into something more.

"Hey, Marie, do you think Lee is okay?"

The question shocked Marie out of her pleasant thoughts, sucking her back into the dreadful reality. That's right, something was definitely wrong with her sister and as much as she tried to cover it up about it just being "work" it certainly did not seem like it.

She shook her head. 'N-No, May. I don't think Lee is okay at all. But I'm afraid that if we continue to pester her and make her tell us that it might just end up worse. She's a big girl, you know? She's eighteen, out of high school, in college and working. I think that while college and work are probably taking a lot out of her, although she didn't mention anything about college which was weird, but whatever, something seems to be underneath that. So, no, May, I don't think Lee is okay. I think she just needs us to be there for when she  _is_  ready to voice what's going on. Even if we don't understand it because we just aren't in her shoes or that maybe we're not old enough to get it, we need to be there. If she cries, we need to hug her and pat her back. Tell her everything will be okay. It sounds stupid and like it isn't a lot, but sometimes, that might just be all you need. Wow, sorry, I just, um, I just rambled a lot. Does any of that make sense, though?" She turned to May.

The blonde was a bit flabbergasted at hearing Marie spout such wise words, but after a second she seemed to remember that her best friend was Double D, after all. Who else could speak of such topics with great intelligence?

May nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. I think. So, what you're saying is to just let her talk if she needs to and hug her and stuff if she needs us to, right?"

Marie shrugged. "Pretty much the gist of what I said, yeah. Lee is who is upholding our family right now, so we have to make sure she's perfectly okay. We need to get jobs, maybe learn to cook and we could also clean the place for her before she gets back. I think that would make her really happy. I know it would make me happy to see people putting in such a hard effort just for me. I think she really needs that. So let's cook and clean tonight, yeah? We can have some nice sisterly bonding. Sure, it might end up being ten at night when she finally gets back, but, I think it's worth it. For both her sake and ours. But mainly her sake."

The younger sister just nodded, at a loss of words, which was the typical case.

On the other hand, the bluenette smiled at thinking of the smile that would form on Lee's face when she came home. At least, hopefully it would be a smile. She seriously just wanted the ginger to not be so stressed anymore. It was going to take a toll on all of them, which wouldn't be good.

The two continued the rest of their walk in silence.

* * *

Marie made sure to quickly make her way to her locker in order to meet Nazz. It was already 7:12, and she at least wanted to meet up with Double D as well in order to make sure that his plans with Kevin were still good to go. She was  _totally_  excited for the two to finally hook up, which had to happen because, well, why wouldn't it, right?

Climbing two stairs at a time, she paced to her locker on the third floor, catching sight of the blonde looking around for her.

Wow, she was so cute.

She ran up to her, raising her hand to wave as she spoke. "Hey, Nazz! Sorry I couldn't get here sooner. It takes about half an hour to walk here from my house."

The other girl shrugged and smiled. "No prob, Marie. Anyways, I need to talk to you about something important, like I said in my text," she said with a small laugh, feeling silly for repeating herself.

"Shoot, Nazz. I'm all ears," Marie said, putting her hands behind her ears and leaning close to the blonde.

Nazz laughed for a moment before becoming instantaneously serious and moving in herself, beginning to whisper what was so crucial. "Listen, there's this party that's going to happen Saturday night. The thing is, it isn't just going to be any old party. This senior, Daniel, and this other guy, Mark, and probably a bunch of other people want to throw it in order to make fun of the Ed's and inviting them by telling them they're the number one guests or something. They want to have this to ruin the rest of their junior year and they're hoping it'll carry on until their senior year. Kev, Nat, and I all don't think Edd would want to go in the slightest, but we're afraid, or at least I am, since Nat doesn't know them well and Kev doesn't care about the other two, that Ed and Eddy will fall right for it. Kev said, and I quote, that 'Eddy's ego is so big that he probably wouldn't miss it for the world.' And then he would most likely drag Ed along with him and it's just  _so_  bad, Marie, I can't let it happen! I know they aren't my best friends but we grew up together and I will not stand by and just have it go on while I know. It's as if  _I'm_ a part of it, you know? I just wouldn't be able to live with myself. So, please, please,  _please_ , help me out. Maybe you can distract Edd or something or, like, I don't know, you and your sisters can spend time with the Ed's? Maybe not as you used to but, just, I don't know! I know you'll think of something. And, gosh, let Edd know first. Today, maybe? I'm positive he'll believe you and maybe I can talk some sense into the other two or maybe Edd can do it. Either way, are you with me?"

Marie's eyes were wide throughout the whole talk. At first, she was unable to believe that people could even be that harsh. Who even were those guys? She had never heard of them. After being shocked, she was angry, and after being angry, she had to take in all of the stuff that Nazz was saying. Okay, she would gather all of the pieces up throughout the day and plan stuff out during her classes. Right now, it was time to assure the blonde that it would all be okay.

She put her hands on Nazz's shoulders. "Nazz, breathe. You're going to have a panic attack. It'll be fine, okay? I'm here to help. I'm sure Lee and May will be just as willing. They haven't lost their crushed for them yet, alright? And yes, I will tell Edd about it. Presumably today. Maybe I'll talk to him about it before he hangs out with Kevin or maybe I'll go to him right now. But, listen, everything is alright. Just relax. You're okay. Everything will be okay." She was pretty close to the other girl, but that didn't matter. Almost no one was around and on top of that, she was really enjoying the fact.

The blonde began to take slow breaths in and out, her tense shoulders slowly lowering on their own, a small smile slowly making its way onto her face. She nodded.

"Okay, yeah. You're right, Marie. Everything will be okay. I know that I can trust in you and your sisters. I can trust in myself, too." She laughed airily, letting out a big breath. "Thank you so much, Marie," she added on, looking at the girl right in the eyes.

Marie shrugged. "It's no big deal. I don't mind. But, hey, I'm going to see if I can go talk to Double D, alright? I'll talk to you later," she said with a smile, beginning to turn around and walk away before her arm was grabbed, stopping her. She looked back.

Nazz was pursing her lips, her eyes still on her. She looked worried, which caused the bluenette to face her completely and step close to her.

"I, Marie," the shorter girl began. "Before you go, I just, there's one thing I want to do."

Before she even had the chance to open her mouth and question what it was, she felt gentle lips on top of hers, causing her eyebrows to go up.

Wait, was Nazz  _kissing_  her? Holy shit. Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit. Wait! She was supposed to kiss back! Now would be a great time to stop thinking and just start doing!

So she did. She put all of her worried thoughts to rest and returned the kiss with the same softness she was getting. It was an act of utter bliss.

But just like that, it was over. In the blink of an eye, the blonde stepped back, a small pink to her cheeks while she looked down.

Figuring that she wasn't going to break the silence, and although she wasn't sure how to do it herself, she nodded slowly.

"I'll, uh, I'll talk t-to you later, Nazz. I'll text you." She turned around, no interruption this time, and made her way to Edd's locker on the second floor in the science hallway.

She checked her phone; it was 7:23.

Good. She had time to spare.

Wow, she really can't even believe that just happened, though. Nazz just kissed her.  _Kissed_  her! Did that mean that she liked her? Well, it probably did, right? Did that mean they were a thing? Holy crap, she couldn't wait to tell Double D what just happened. He would probably be just as shocked as she was. God, she felt like she was in Heaven right now.

She reached Edd's locker, finding him to be there, organizing his stuff. She slowly crept behind him, yelling "BOO!" really loudly in his ear.

While he didn't scream, he let out a loud "Lord!" and looked to see the culprit. Upon finding it to just be Marie, he sighed.

"Hello, Marie. Thank you for almost giving me a heart attack. Goodness gracious, please never do that again. Especially since last time I checked, Halloween ended over two months ago. There is no need to pretend to be a ghost."

The bluenette waved him off. "Listen, I got two things to say to you. Well, make that three now. First, Halloween should be celebrated every day of the year because, well, fuck yeah, it's Halloween! Second, this is going to be really long, so brace yourself, okay?"

Edd shook his head. "Well, in that case, let me finish gathering my books." He turned around, placing his books for later that day in his locker and the ones for his first few classes were in his arm. He closed his locker, closing the lock on it. He faced Marie. "Okay, you may go on."

She nodded, her voice becoming quiet. "Alright, listen. What I'm about to say is really important and I promise you I'm not lying, okay? There's this party that's going to happen Saturday. Some seniors named Daniel and Mark and probably a lot of other people are going to be there, but I think Daniel and Mark are hosting it. You have to listen to me when I say this, okay? Do not. Absolutely do  _not_  go to that party. They just want to do some really sick shit to you and Ed and Eddy and are going to trick you by saying you're the number one guests or something. What it is, I don't know. But I do know that they want to ruin the rest of your high school years. I honestly don't think parties are your scene so I'm not worried about you going to it, but I'm scared for Ed and Eddy. Eddy loves parties and his ego is so gigantic that if he hears that he's the number one guest, he'll go. We can't let him. He'll be so ashamed. Knowing that and not doing anything about it will just make me feel like I was a part of it, you know? So, Edd, I'm going to try and maybe have you, the other two, my sisters and I all hang out on Saturday. If that's okay with you. I just need to do  _something_  in order to protect you all."

Edd nodded slowly, trying to take in all of the information with furrowed brows. "Okay. Yes, Okay. I understand what you're saying. Should I tell Ed and Eddy about it?"

Marie shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I think you should, maybe. Maybe tell them that you want to hang out all of Saturday or something so that way if they're invited they already have plans. Or, will that not work because Eddy would ditch you for a party?"

The taller laughed. "You're right. He would certainly ditch me for a party. I'm sure we'll find something out, Marie. We still have a few days, but I will try to act quickly. Now, what was the third thing that you needed to speak to me about?"

The question caused the blunette to blush and smile, her head moving to look at the ground. "Well, it has to do with Nazz. I was talking to her this morning. She was the one who just told me what I just said to you. The whole party thing," she began, facing her friend again. "When I was going to leave to talk to you, jeez, man, she did something so incredible. She, um, she grabbed my arm and I faced her again. And, she just, well, she just kissed me."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. She said that before I left she had something she wanted to do. And, well, that was it. I was so in awe, dude. It was so nice. We were both way too shy to talk about it, though, so I left while she was staring at the ground. I think I have a chance with her. I'm super pumped about it, honestly."

Edd smiled. "That's great, Marie! I'm very happy for you. I hope it all turns out well. If anything else happens, or if you two get around to talking about your feelings, please do let me know. I enjoy hearing about the happiness you're experiencing."

Marie's mouth turned up. "Jeez, thanks, Double D. But don't get all mushy on me like that. Seriously." She laughed, playfully shoving him with her hand before getting a more serious tone in her voice. "So, hey, you're chilling with Kevin today, right?"

The boy blushed and nodded. "A-Ah, yes, I am. Why?"

She shook her head. "No real reason. I'm just making sure. Text me after and let me know how it goes, yeah?" She answered with a wink, only causing her friend to become even more flustered.

"M-Marie!"

"What? It's not like I  _said_  anything! Anyways, I'm gonna go to class, alright? I'll talk to you later," she said, waving goodbye to him and making her way to her class, the kiss with Nazz repeating in her head over and over again. She touched her lips with a small smile.

* * *

It felt like the hours had been long and dragged on as slow as possible before Kevin Barr exited his last class. He made his way out of his last class and headed to where Nazz's locker was. Or should he be going to Edd's locker? It wouldn't matter, probably, since the two were only around the corner from one another.

Shit, he was kind of excited for today. He would finally make his move on the other boy. Yeah, today  _had_  to be the day. This was his only time to really do it. And why not, right? He had the chance so he should totally take it. He was just crossing his fingers that it wouldn't scare the other boy away.

When he reached the female's locker, he nodded to her with a grin.

"Sup, Nazz? How was your day?"

She shrugged. "Besides this morning," a blush formed on her cheeks, "it was pretty bland. Nothing really changed from what the usual schedule is. Just learning and doing worksheets. How was yours?"

The ginger nodded. "Yeah, my day was pretty boring, too. But, I gotta admit, I'm pretty pumped for hanging with you-know-who today. I'm making my move today, so I'm hoping that it turns out okay. At least it was pretty evident how your move went," he said with a scoff.

Nazz rolled her eyes. "Just because she kissed back doesn't mean she likes me back. Maybe she just felt obligated to, okay?"

Kevin shook his head. "Nope. You should see the way you both look when you both talk to each other. You look like lovebirds. It's sick, I swear. I feel like I might throw up every time I see it."

The girl punched him in the shoulder, albeit softly. "Shut up! I know that you have a hard time finding love but it's totally not cool to take it out on other people who  _are_  in love, okay?"

His eyebrows went up. "Did you just say you were in love with her? Nazz, holy shit. How long has your crush been going on?"

The blonde looked down with a blush. "Since last year. Stupid, I know. I think she likes me, too, though. Like, genuinely likes me." She looked up at him, her lips pursed.

"Yeah, I think so, too, Nazz. Hey, listen, I know this rude of me, but I want to get to him, if that's okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead. I think I want to see if I can find her and talk to her, anyways."

Kevin nodded, making his way over to Edd's locker who was at his locker, gathering all of his books.

Wow, what an adorable guy.

He walked over to him and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

Double D jumped a bit, looking to see who tapped him. He smiled when he found it to be Kevin.

"Why, hello there, Kevin. I apologise for not being prepare yet, but I'm almost done gathering my books, so, if you don't mind, I will finish up here and we can make our way over to my house, yes?" He asked, his eyes still on the ginger.

The taller nodded in response. "Yeah, sure. I don't mind waiting," he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the locker as he waited.

It felt like forever, which it most likely was only a few minutes but hey, the anticipation was killing him, before Edd was closing his locker and speaking to him.

"Okay, I'm ready to go when you are, Mr. Barr," Double D, looking up at the other boy with a smile on his face.

Kevin grinned back at him, beginning to walk to the stairs which would lead them to the entrance of the school. Shit, he could feel all of his nerves completely aware of everything that was going on; every inch of him was feeling thrilled for this day.

Fuck, he really hoped it all went well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha.. hah.. hiiiii guys! Long time no chapter. I know it's been two months (and now one day) since I've updated, but I've just been trying to get back into school. I know it shouldn't have taken this long but September was a busy month with a convention and cousins graduating from Marines and Coast Guard and also easing into school. October just had so much planned for me so, yeah. Sorry about that.
> 
> However, here I am! Hopefully I will be updating much quicker.
> 
> I'm sorry if this was sloppy and short, by the way. Also, it only reached 5.5k words which stinks but it would have been waaaaay too long if I included Kevin and Edd hanging out.
> 
> By the way, CLIFFHANGER! I can't wait to write the next chapter. But I REALLY can't wait to see your reviews on what you think about what happened between Marie and Nazz! I honestly didn't expect to do that myself but it seemed like a good time, so, yeah!
> 
> On another note, I am actually in the middle of writing my own story. Like, my own characters and everything. I'm only in the middle of the second chapter out of God knows how many, but I have pretty much all of it planned out.
> 
> I was wondering if anyone would like to read it? Maybe I'll post it here (not ff) since it's an original story.
> 
> Pretty much it's about a blind guy and a guy who is a player that end up falling in love and stuff. It sounds really boring but I don't want to into too much depth. Would anyone be interested? Please leave a comment if you are!
> 
> As always, please review and correct me on any spelling mistakes! Thank you!


	17. Update x2

Haha, here it is again, all of you clicked on this thinking "Yes! A new chapter!" only to find yet another update, but perhaps it's better than nothing, and I have promises this time!!1!!!111

But I really apologise for that. I know what it's like, and I'm sorry. I should've updated and should've worked on the chapter. I was busy with school and on top of that I've started writing fanfictions for another blog (it's a KPOP related blog) and I'm actually quite busy with it, and that's pretty much where I've been residing since my last update in February? January?

I will finish this story. Eventually. It may take several more months, but it will happen. I think I will be updating either tomorrow or Saturday? It depends on my free time tomorrow, but yes, there will finally be an update!

I've gotten a lot more confident in my writing, also (kind of. not really. idk). And a lot better! Since I've been writing for the KPOP blog I've been able to expand my vocabulary which is oh so useful considering that I'll be writing with Edd's point of view a lot. 

To be honest, it's Friday right now for me (U.S. EST) but as I type this it's around 12:50 a.m. and I have school tomorrow (meaning I could write it right now but also not really?). Speaking of school, I'm a senior in high school now, and I'll be graduating this year and going off to college. Woot woot! But because I'm a senior this year will be very busy in terms of college essays and whatnot (and I plan on getting a job very soon) so updates, while they will certainly happen, will be scarce.

Anyways, this is a short update, but, hey, be sure to check in this upcoming week for an update! I don't know which day it will be up but I think I'll get to it. I actually really want to get back into this story and writing it, so yeah. I've practiced writing smut (although it's been male x female but hey I've read my fair share of yaoi fics I think I can still pull this off). So, yeah! I'll be tuning back in with you guys soon! Thank you for sticking with me.

-WADD


	18. Dinner with Dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the bottom note. Thank you!

Kevin and Edd walked towards the shorter's house with a smile on said boy's face and a scowl on the other's as they chatted animatedly.

"Well, Kevin, I must say that I, personally, cannot wait to assist you in your Pre-Calculus needs! All of what you are learning will be quite simple to me. Not to boast or seem conceited, but I am in AP Calculus, so all of what you are learning should be a breeze!" He said, a noticeable cheeriness in his voice.

The ginger thought it was pretty cute how much the dork loved school. Who else could possibly be excited to do homework besides him? Or maybe it's the fact that he's learning new things that makes him happy? Whatever, the dweeb was cute. He let a small smile form on his face.

Of course the other wouldn't fail to notice this, and he made this known by letting out a small chuckle.

The jock's face turned into one of confusion, being that what just happened went right over his head. "What's so funny, Dork?"

"Oh, nothing, Kevin. It isn't that something is funny at all, actually. I just find it endearing that you seemed to smile. May I ask why?" He seemed to be quite enthralled by the taller boy and his mysterious ways. On top of that, he was too oblivious to notice why he might be smiling all of the sudden.

One thing that he wasn't oblivious to was that Kevin's cheeks seemed to heat up and he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. That was a habit that he did when he was nervous, Edd noted. But why?

"Kevin?" He gently placed his hand on the other's shoulder and the two stopped walking as the scholar was concerned about his friend's well-being and the friend was too embarrassed to say anything. "Are you alright? Your face is heating up!"

Upon hearing those words, the jock coughed and nodded in a fast, nervous manner. "Uh, y-yeah, I'm alright. I was just thinkin' about something, no biggie. But, uh," they began walking again as the taller slowly lowered his hand from his neck. "I guess the reason why I was smiling was cause of you."

Edd's eyes went wide, a bajillion thoughts running back and forth through his head to think of the correct and perfect reason as to why he would have said that. The possibilities seemed to be endless, and he just couldn't place his finger on the right one. Especially that one. No, that's not the reason. Nope, not at all. He was not going to think about it. He would will himself to focus on other alternatives as to why that specific sense had just been said.

The facial expression did not go by Kevin. He immediately realized what he said and bit his bottom lip, attempting to find the best excuse.

"Uh, what I meant was, just t-that you're so, y'know, excited about tutoring me. It's just, I don't know, cute, I guess, that you're so in love with school and learning and shit. It's different compared to most of my other friends, so it's, just, y'know, a breath of fresh air you could say maybe. I don't know, it's cool that you're happy to teach me. And that you like gaining knowledge about new things and stuff."

Wow, Kevin felt like even a dumber fool now that he had just said that. Did he really just call him cute?

Edd himself was surprised to hear that word. So much so that he didn't bother on calling him out on his foul language, but he would most likely say something else about it later.

"W-Well, thank you, Kevin. I'm just very enraptured by education. I enjoy learning all that the world has to offer to me, which is quite a lot. While I may only have one career, I find others to be just as astounding. Not just jobs, though! Languages and cultures and topics within subjects are all fascinating. I'm utterly mesmerized by how wonderful the world can be and all that it can teach me. That's why I will enjoy tutoring you so much!" He clasped his hands together, a big smile on his face.

This only caused the jock's feelings to flourish even more. Damn the dork.

"That's pretty rad. That you like learning so much. I've never been one for it, so I guess hearing someone else's perspective about it is cool."

The scholar raised an eyebrow. "Did you, Kevin Barr, just call me cool?" He asked, a smug grin on his face.

A chuckle came from the ginger. "Yeah, I guess I did, huh? You're officially cool in my book, Double Dork. Better step up your game a little more so that you can stay that way, yeah?"

Both of them laughed, each beginning to feel a little cautious about their own actions. The two of them wanted to be with one another but it seemed as if it was impossible. Neither knew of the other's feelings and even if there had been moments where it seemed as if one had feelings for another, they passed it off as reading the message wrong.

Oh, how Edd wished to hold Kevin's hand and be able to hug him in a loving way.

And how Kevin wanted to kiss Edd and stay with him forever.

It was a shame neither knew of the other's true intentions in each word they spoke.

They slowly approached Edd's house without a word, and although they were only aware of their own feelings to realize the other's; their nervousness was overwhelming, Too overwhelming, however, in that neither could tell the other was feeling so anxious.

The hat-wearing boy began to search through his bag to obtain his house key. He couldn't feel it at first, but he kept searching, trying to grope around for it. As the moments grew on, so did his anxiety.

Oh, where could he have put them? He could have sworn he grabbed them before leaving for school this morning! Oh, dear. Oh goodness him! How could this happen? He just wanted to have a decent day for once. Especially since this day included spending time with Kevin. What would he do? Okay, act cool, right? As Eddy would say, just "play it off." Yes. He will proceed to "play it off."

He turned to face Kevin, a nervous smile having replaced his relaxed one. Hopefully the other wouldn't be able to tell how uneasy he felt.

To his misfortune, of course, because he just had such terrible luck with these things, the other did, but he seemed unsure as to if he was seeing things right.

"Everything alright, Dork-o?" He asked slowly, eyebrows raised and face expressing uncertainty. Oh, if that attractive face of the ginger's didn't exist, the scholar would have certainly scolded him about the nickname. Of course he could have done so before, but-

Wait. He needed to focus on the current problem at hand.

"Personal thoughts for later, Eddward."

Edd coughed. "Well, y-you see, Kevin, it appears that I cannot find my key, although I am quite positive I should have acquired it this morning before I left the house!" He frowned, feeling shy before daring to ask something which he defined risky. "Would we, perchance, be able to take this meeting to your house, so long as your father permits it?"

He did only have a father, correct? He wasn't quite positive, but he wouldn't pry now. That would be for later. As in, when their friendship develops more, which he hopes it will, and they begin talking on a more personal level.

Although, was family really that personal? Well, considering that Edd believed that Kevin's mother was no longer living with them, yes, it was. It was probably a touchy subject for his friend and how he would hate to disturb him or make him upset, so he just stood there, hands folded in front of himself.

A small smirk crept its way onto Kevin's face as he nodded. "Yeah, sure, he probably won't mind," he said with a shrug, and then pursed his lips. "Actually, I think he would be happy to meet you. I've told him that we've been hanging out and he, well, he wants to know you better." He turned around and started to walk to his house, Edd following suit. As they crossed the street, the ginger continued to ramble on.

"I mean, he knows you, and he kind of knows that you're like, the smartest kid in our town, maybe even the whole damn state," he exclaimed with his arms outwards, "but I think he's always wondered exactly who you are, mainly cause we live across the street. He keeps going on about how he never sees a car at home and wonders why it's never there."

Kevin paused, sneaking a glance at the raven-haired boy, who had a slight pink tint to his cheeks from the compliment.

His grin widened, placing his hands behind his head. "I told him your parents are barely home 'cause they're busy with work and traveling and stuff. He feels bad for you, you know? And I get that. It probably isn't easy, is it?" He stopped moving, turning to face Edd and looking him in the eye.

The other boy shrugged, a sad smile on his face. "I suppose it's merely something one has to get acquainted with," he stated, his eyes casting down.

Kevin puffed his cheeks, shaking his head before bringing his arms around Edd, cause the dork's heart to nearly skip a beat. "I'm sorry, man. I'm sure it's really hard to be by yourself all the time. It can be kind of hard here, too, since my mom left," he murmured. "My dad has never really been the same. But I guess it's better than no dad, right?"

Edd, trying to control his breathing, placed a hand on the jock's wrist, pulling himself away from his hug. "Kevin, just because I may seem to 'have it worse' does not mean that you cannot be upset over something. That's not how life works," he told him, being sure to emphasize the three words "have it worse".

With a huff, the taller boy nodded. "I guess," he said, albeit dismissively. "I just can't imagine what it must be like. I mean, not that my dad and I are like best friends and hang out a lot or anythin', but at least he's here. Puts a roof over my head and all that shit," he tacked on.

The genius pursed his lips, feeling some pity for his friend. He didn't necessarily think either of them really had it worse than the other, but both of them did have pros or cons that the other did not. He at least had both of his parents, although they weren't usually there. His companion only had one, but he was always there.

Kevin glanced at Edd, staring him in the face, then looking down at the hand on his wrist, and then back up to the raven-haired boy. Double D had been thinking silently to himself, yet he hadn't removed his hand. Of course the ginger had no idea that the shorter was deep in thought, so this was beginning to feel a little awkward.

Edd realized that he was being looked at and moved his eyes over to his friend. He was half-surprised to see Kevin eyeing him, mustering a small smile when their eyes made contact. "Is there something disturbing you, Kevin?"

The jock raised his eyebrows. "Uh, not really disturbing, just a little weird." He pointed to his wrist. "You're still holding my wrist."

"Oh!" The sock-hat exclaimed, releasing his hand immediately and blushing profusely. "M-My apologies! I did not mean to make you feel awkward."

Kevin shrugged. "It's fine. Let's go inside, yeah?" He asked, although he started getting out his house key and shoving it into the lock of the door before Edd even answered.

The shorter figured that he should purse his lips, since there didn't seem to be much point in answering now, as the door already opened. Kevin motioned for Double D to go in first, but he politely refused with a shake of his head.

"I believe it would be more appropriate if you went in first, Kevin, as it is your home," he murmured, hoping that didn't sound demanding.

Nodding with raised brows, the ginger stepped through the door. Edd followed Kevin inside, shyly stalking behind him, his eyes unable to help but peer around. He had never seen the inside of his neighbor's house, only able to see a blaring television screen from his bedroom windows every now and then.

He felt a little awkward being in his house. He was unaware of the atmosphere here and how he should act. At Ed's or Eddy's, he was comfortable, but here… Well, this was a new place. Maybe it was right for his to feel this way, but was it too extreme? Or maybe he was fine.

He pursed his lips. This was too much. He really felt overwhelmed, if only because he didn't know what he was supposed to do. How should he greet his father? Was it okay that he was more of a brainiac than a sporty person? Would his father not approve of Kevin having a friend like this?

Oh, goodness, that was right! Edd didn't even think about meeting Kevin's father. He had never been introduced to him before, nor did he know of any stories which made their way through the high school highways.

Kevin led Ed into the kitchen, not even noticing how the boy behind him was practically shaking with trepidation. When he stopped, the nerd bumped into him, his eyebrows went up, and he turned around.

"You alright there, Double D?" He asked, sounding a little concerned, but not enough to sound as much as he was.

Edd nodded slowly, feeling too embarrassed from having done that to muster up the courage to speak.

The jock gave him a confused nod back. "Right, then," he muttered as he turned back around. "So, dad, the friend I've been talking about," he began.

Edward just noticed the figure by the stove, who looked to be in the midst of what was probably dinner. He was tall and burly and quite intimidating in the scrawny boy's eyes.

His father had no reaction the ginger's words, continuing to chop up onions and place them into the pan. Somehow he was managing to do this without tears coming to his eyes. It was remarkable, to Edd. He must truly be resilient.

"This is the friend, dad," Kevin said, unfazed by the lacked response, stepping to the side and allowing Edd to be seen.

It was then that the man turned the stove knob to low and slowly moved his head so he could see Double D. He looked him up and down, as if analyzing his stature alone. It was making Edd feel bad ever so slightly. Compared to Kevin and his father, the nerd was like a weak twig. Oh dear, how completely out of place he was!

Kevin's father outstretched his arm, palm opened. Edd hesitated, but reached his hand up to meet Kevin's father's. His father grabbed his hand (albeit too tightly for Edd, but oh no, he did not dare say a thing about it) and shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Edward. Kevin has been saying quite a bit about you lately," he said, his voice deep and strong. It made Edd more terrified, but he didn't think Kevin's father could be a terrible person.

"N-Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Barr," he replied quietly, tentatively, afraid that even the wrong greeting could set off the man. If he was anything like Kevin, it wouldn't be that arduous.

Mr. Barr released his hand. "Call me Roger," he stated, putting his arm at his side, Edd following suit.

Well, that didn't seem appropriate. "E-Excuse me, sir, but I believe it to be much more polite if I addressed you as 'Mr. Barr'. I hope that is alright with you," he responded, shrinking slightly. Oh no, was that okay to say? Was he going against him by saying something like that? Maybe he should just call him Roger like he asked, but was it too late to take it back or-

Mr. Barr chuckled, the sound full of happiness and amusement. You really are as polite as Kevin says. I thought he was just messing with me, but I guess not." He gave Edd a pat on the shoulder, not doing very well for Edd's self-esteem (goodness, he needed to get stronger), but it did allow him to breathe slightly. "You can call me Mr. Barr if that's really what you want."

A rush of relief went through Edward. He wasn't upset with him? How wonderful! Although, perhaps he shouldn't have thought that would've been what would've happened. He was too nervous being in this new home that it was starting to get to him. If only he could be comfortable here like he was in his other friends' homes.

"So," Mr. Barr started up again, "what are you planning to do as a career, Edd?"

Edward pursed his lips. "I believe I want to go into the field of science. I'm not sure if I would rather be a botanist, a chemist, an entomologist, or maybe finding cures for diseases. I'm a bit indecisive at the moment, although, because I will be graduating not too long from now, I should know already, I think. However, I do not," he admitted.

Mr. Barr nodded his head. "That's quite impressive. In order to go into those fields you have to be pretty smart, don't you?"

The skinny boy shrugged. "I-I suppose so, but it just comes naturally to me, really. I do not believe it to be something to boast about," he replied shyly.

Kevin's father glanced at Kevin and raised his eyebrows before looking back at Edd. "A smart yet humble boy. There needs to be more people like you in the world."

Double D shook his head. "I don't believe I am that outstanding that there should be a replica made of me! I believe there are others with more desirable qualities that deserve that statement more than I do."

Mr. Barr's eyebrows came together, and his mouth tugged downwards at the edges, but it looked to be one of confusion as to why he wouldn't just take the compliment. Kevin raised his eyebrows and looked away awkwardly. Edd should've just taken the compliment.

But before his dad could say anything, Kevin grabbed Edd's wrist and tugged him back, much to Edward's surprise and causing him to gasp.

"Well, my dad is a little busy cooking dinner right now. Let's give him some time to make it, yeah? I can show you my room in the meantime," he said quickly, smiling at his dad (albeit nervously) before turning around and bringing Edd up the stairs and to his room. He shut the door after he walked in and took a deep breath, leaning against the door.

"Um, did I do something wrong, Kevin?" Edd asked, pursing his lips. He didn't even need to ask that question, he was well aware that he had, but he wished to confirm it with Kevin, since he most certainly knew his own father better than he did.

Kevin shook his head. "No, not really." He bit the inside of his cheek. "Well, sort of? But only because you probably should've just taken the compliment. My dad can understand humbleness, but there has to be limit to it, ya know?"

Edd nodded, frowning. "Oh dear! My bad. I did not mean to upset your father in any way. My sincerest apologies, Kevin."

The jock shrugged. "It's whatever." He strided over to his bed and sat down. "He's just not used to people like you, to put it simply. Nazz, Nat, you know how they are. My friends are more sporty, but you're really not. It's not a bad, though. Just different," he murmured, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

The geek slowly nodded, itching to correct Kevin's grammar but deciding to sweep that under the rug. It was something he could poke at if they become closer, which of course was the ultimate goal, and he was undoubtedly going to try and make it happen if he could.

"I understand, Kevin. I suppose our friendship is quite strange to any onlookers. There are usually cliques that students stay in, but we have broken those boundaries, haven't we?" He said quietly, glancing at the ginger. "I mean, we are most certainly not the first, but within Peach Creek, I do believe," he trailed off, looking away.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, not many people here seem to wander away from their friends. Jocks with jocks, nerds with nerds, theatre geeks with theatre geeks and whatnot. I know Nat definitely goes out his typical social circle," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Actually, scratch that, Nat's social circle includes everyone, jock or not," he tacked on with a grimace.

Edward stepped over to Kevin's bed, sitting down on the far edge, not too close to him. "Well, is that not a good thing? It shows that he does not care much for status quos, which is something that I admire. I would like to believe I do not as well, but I do not socialize very much," he mumbled.

Kevin raised a brow. "Wait, step back. Are you sayin' Nat Goldberg, the most overzealous and most annoying pompous asshole, is admiring? I hate to ask, but Double D, are you high or something?"

The dork's face became quizzical. "E-Excuse me?" He was well aware of what Kevin asked him, as Edward was not ignorant, but he was having a hard time believing that those words were really directed at him.

Realizing what he said, the ginger laughed awkwardly and shrugged. "It was just a joke, Double D. I didn't mean it seriously. It's just something ya say when someone says somethin' completely crazy."

Oh. Well that made more sense. For a moment there he actually thought that Kevin really thought that he was on drugs. That wouldn't be something he would ever want anyone to think. Edd was a good student. He would never get involved with drugs or drinking or anything detrimental to his health! It would make both of his parents, and even himself, very ashamed.

"So, uh, how are the other two dorks?" Kevin asked, quirking a brow whilst trying to seem natural. After that small mishap he felt a bit weird. This was something to be remembered as what not to say to him. Some jokes just weren't made for some people.

Edd hummed quietly. "Eddy is well. He has been spending quite a bit of time working on something, although I do not know what. I assume it must be something related to another one of his schemes, even though I have told him time and time again that we are older now, and no one falls for them anymore. I think he is aware of it, but… it gives him something to do," he said with a sigh.

Kevin tilted his head to the side. "Everything okay between you guys? Aren't the two of you best friends?" He didn't mean to be invasive, but that sigh was pretty heavy.

Edward clicked his tongue and frowned. "There has been a slight matter of contention between us, and although I was not put off from the friendship, I do believe he feels awkward now, which is fathomable considering what happened, but I do wish that it won't sustain than it already has."

The memory of their hangout went through his head. His forced confession was something he didn't expect. At one point, Edd did think he felt something for Eddy, but those days have come and gone. Now that he has been conversing with Kevin rather often, well, it is easy for him to say that he likes the jock more than he expected to, or thought that he would.

"Well, if you wanna talk about it, I'm here for ya. I can understand if you don't feel comfortable, but I'm just putting the offer out there," Kevin replied, trying to sound comforting despite that he had no idea as to what had happened between the two of them. The fact that Edd and Eddy were having issues made him worry a little; would he fight with Nazz or Nat so badly that they'd not talk for some time? He hoped not.

Eddward nodded. "Thank you, Kevin. Your friendliness is greatly appreciated," he said with a genuine smile. Although he didn't plan on sharing all that much with Kevin, it was comforting to know that at least he cared.

The ginger pursed his lips, not really sure what to say now. He could just start up a random conversation, but he didn't know what to talk about. School? Sports? He didn't really know much of what Edd was interested in, besides science, and probably other geeky things. Eh, might as well try some small talk about it, even if he had no interest.

"So, uh, what's your favorite subject in school?" He asked awkwardly.

The other boy lit up, ready to geek out (quite literally) about how fascinating science was. But then he realized how overbearing that would be and he didn't want to disturb Kevin. Instead, he would just settle for something simple.

"To put it simply, science is my favorite subject. I don't believe I can possibly gush enough about it for you to understand just how incredible and enthralling it is! I most certainly would like to pursue a career in the field, but there are just so many things that I'm not quite sure which I would like to do," he said, a little embarrassed because it made him sound unprepared for the world after high school. He didn't necessarily believe himself to be so, but without an idea of what job he wanted to have when he graduated, that certainly said something, didn't it? Oh goodness gracious, he hoped he didn't seem that way in Kevin's eyes.

But Kevin merely nodded in understanding. "Sounds cool, Double Dweeb," Kevin said nonchalantly, and while Edd internally sighed from the nickname, he brushed it off once Kevin began speaking again. "I'm just gonna be goin' to college to continue playing football. Maybe I'll major in business so take over dad's company, but football is my focus for some time. I don't think I'll have to worry about my dad's company for a while," he murmured with a shrug.

Edd's eyebrows went up. "I forgot that your father was the main source of jawbreakers!" He exclaimed, only slightly shocking Kevin, who smiled a bit after the initial scare wore off. "It's been quite a long time since I've even thought about them. I believe Eddy has even tossed that aside, but, of course, as I said previously, he does still enjoy his schemes. I do often wonder if that'll carry into his college years and he'll be arrested for stealing. Or perhaps he'll become an entrepreneur," he trailed off, putting his hand under his chin in a look of thought.

Kevin pursed his lips. He wasn't really fond of Eddy in any sense whatsoever, but if he wanted to be with Double D he would have to get used hearing his potential-future-boyfriend talk about Eddy, and would probably have to get used to even seeing Eddy at get-togethers or more at school than he wanted to. Dammit, this was probably one of the worst things about people from different cliques dating. Sure, he didn't like everyone that was considered "sporty" but he didn't want to strangle them like he did Eddy. Why couldn't he just be straight and date Nazz or something? Why Edd?

Kevin sighed and took off his hat, running a hand through his hair before putting his hat back on. This caught Edd's attentions almost immediately.

"Oh, goodness, I apologise! I didn't mean to lose focus there. I just got so caught up in thought about Eddy, especially because of what just happened between us not long ago since it is still on my mind. I am truly sorry, Kevin."

He really needed to stop spacing out like this! It would undeniably detriment his relationship with Kevin if he seemed to keep ignoring him. If he were in Kevin's place he would feel rather upset, so he must change his ways!

Kevin, with a small pink to his cheeks, shrugged. "Not a big deal to me. I was just thinkin' about something else,too," he murmured. Like hell would he admit that he was thinking about how much he liked Edd and how he'd be dedicated enough to their relationship to deal seeing Eddy often.

While he didn't entirely believe what Kevin was saying, he knew better than to pry.

In the short space of silence, they were lucky enough to hear Kevin's father yell from the bottom of the stairs.

"Dinner is ready!"

Kevin glanced at Edd. "Ready to go downstairs and eat?"

Edd nodded. "Certainly!"

"Cool beans."

Both boys stepped out of the room and made their way downstairs, Kevin in the lead and Edd following meekly behind.

Although he knew he shouldn't be, he was still a tad nervous. It was his first time here, after all!

They made it to the kitchen, the food already prepared on plates accompanied by cups of water and utensils.

"Take a seat, boys. I hope you like meat, Edd," Mr. Barr said, laughing a bit.

Edd slowly nodded. While he had certainly considered the vegetarian lifestyle, he had not committed to it yet. Perhaps, however, he did need to some meat in his diet; he was rather weak.

Kevin and Double D sat down at the table, Kevin and his father across from one another and Double D in the middle.

"Thank you very much for this food, Mr. Barr," Edd said silently, still intimidated by the man's stature.

Roger nodded. "You got it," he said, a little cheery, but still with his bellowing voice.

Once they were all settled, the three began eating their dinner. For the most part, dinner was eaten in silence. Except for the light chatter between Kevin and his father; typical talks of how was school today? and did you learn anything new?

Albeit nothing was purposefully offensive (of course it wasn't! Surely Kevin would not have invited him just to mock his lack of parental figures), he still felt slightly hurt by the sight of seeing them talk. While he had gotten used to the abundant emptiness in his home, he does wish he could some physical interaction with his parents.

Kevin nudged Edd. "You alright dude? You seem a little off."

Double D tilted his head. "I do? I didn't mean to seem so. Just thinking about a few of my duties I must accomplish when I get home," he lied, a slightly fake smile covering his internal frown.

The ginger nodded. "Got it. If you needa talk, like I said-"

"I know Kevin. Thank you," Edd cut him off, although not in a rude tone, soft, rather.

Kevin smiled a little bit, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Edd totally just nagged him like.. like a boyfriend would.

The jock blushed, turning his head away and continuing to eat his food. Sheesh.

Edd stared at him for a second, but in turn moved his head back to look at his food, unsure of what just conspired but wasn't going to say anything at the dinner table.

"You two are acting strange. What's goin' on, Kev? Got something you wanna tell me about you and your friend?" His father abruptly asked, bold and unashamed.

Kevin, abashed, shook his head and waved his arms. "What? No, dad, no. It's not like that."

Edd, on the other hand, was thankful that he hadn't been eating his food, otherwise he believed he would've choked on it from the shock.

Mr. Barr quirked a brow and went right back to eating. "I'm just checking. You guys are being weird."

The ginger combed a hand through his hair, biting the inside of one cheek nervously. He had no idea how his dad felt about gay people, especially gay guys. He had to keep all of this dumb crush stuff to himself for now.

Quiet, with a heavy, awkward air clear throughout the kitchen, the three men finished their dinner.

Once Edd and Kevin had finished, Kevin told Edd I got the dishes, you go back up to my room. Without hesitation, Double D did what he said instantly. He didn't want to stay in that awkward spot for much longer. Plus, he was sure Kevin was going to clear things up with his father about what had happened. It was certainly nothing more than a friend checking up on a friend. Yes, certainly that.

Giving a sigh as he walked into the room, Edd waltzed over to Kevin's bed and sat down gently.

And then promptly got back up once he realized that it was now nearing seven o'clock. That was most definitely way too late for him to be out. He had to check up on all of his bugs and plants! And of course do his homework and take a shower and perhaps clean up a bit of the house as well. Oh, dear. He detested being that type of person, but he had important duties to attend to.

The sock-hatted boy grabbed his books and his bag, making sure he had everything (especially his house key!) and slowly exited the bedroom. He tip-toed down the stairs, making sure he wasn't interrupting any conversation between Kevin and his father.

Thanking, it actually seemed like their talk had just end, since the taller boy was just turning the corner to go up the stairs.

However, once he saw Edd, a peculiar look appeared on his face.

Double D made his way down the stairs to be face to face with Kevin. "Kevin, my sincerest apologies, however it is getting rather late and I've important chores I must complete at home. I am entirely sorry for leaving so shortly, but I am afraid I must. Is that alright?"

Kevin slowly nodded, taking in all of the information Edd had just spewed at him. Although it wasn't much, Edd tended to use bigger words and weird phrases. He had to take the extra second to translate into simple speak.

With a quick grab of his jacket, Kevin tossed it on himself and said, "Dad, I'll be right back, just gonna take Edd across to his house since it's dark out." It was a bullshit excuse and his father probably knew it, but it was fine with Kevin if it meant he got to spend some extra minutes with Edd, despite what happened.

Kevin stepped outside of his house with Edd, closing the door behind them. They walked down the walkway of his house, closer to where the street was, in silence. There wasn't very much for them to say after that awkward conversation during dinner time. Well, there was, but neither of them thought it was a good idea to talk about it.

However, Edd's head was racing with hundreds of different thoughts, and one of them happened to be remembering the exact reason why he had gone to Kevin's in the first place.

"Oh dear, I just realized that we didn't do any studying at all! We spent all of the time talking instead!" Edd worried, distress clear on his face.

Kevin, a bit surprised, shrugged. "No biggie. It was kind of like a meet-and-greet anyways. An introduction, I guess. We can study next time."

Well, there was nothing to do about it now, so Edd merely nodded and continued facing forward.

Once they came to the street, after looking both ways, they crossed over to Edd's house. They went up his walkway and to his door. Thankfully, Edd found his key; it happened to be stuck right underneath one of his binders, hence why he couldn't find it.

Double D took the key out of his bag, but as he was moving his hand to doorknob to unlock it, Kevin spoke, and he froze in place.

"Edd. There's something I need to get off of my chest."

Upon the sudden inquisitive feeling, Edward couldn't help but to turn his head to face him, staring at him with a tilted head.

The ginger puffed his cheeks and rubbed the back of his neck, mumbling out a short, sorry.

And just like that, he kissed him. No other warning, no sort of explanation. Just the press of Kevin's lips right on Edd's.

It was strange at first, for both of them.

Edd had never kissed anyone, beside his mother and father, of course, but now that he was an adult he certainly did not do it as often (as if he had much of a chance to). However, this wasn't a bad feeling. Despite both of their lips being a bit chapped, it was a smooth kiss. Kevin had the experience, so it only made it half-awkward.

The jock, on the other hand, felt weird about it (on top of the strange feeling). He would have never imagined himself in this situation. But here he was, smooching some nerd he had a sudden crush on. It wasn't a bad thing, he surmised, however he did feel nervous about what would happen after he pulled away.

After allowing it to last only about seven seconds, Kevin pulled away, unable to look directly into Edd's eyes.

Double D, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at the taller boy. Well, that was.. exhilarating? It must have been, since his palms were sweating and his heart (while not physically possible) was racing a mile a minute, oh yes, it was thrilling.

"Listen," Kevin started suddenly, keeping his eyes wandering around to anywhere but the boy in front of him, "if this ruined whatever we had, that's fine. We don't gotta talk after this if you don't want to," he muttered. Yeah, he would've hated that, but it would've been his fault.

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Why, Kevin, why wouldn't I want to talk to you?" Was the jock that oblivious to his feelings? Goodness, and Edd had thought he was revealing them so blatantly this whole time!

At that, the ginger's head snapped up. "Huh?"

Suddenly timid, Edd responded, "I too share the penchant, Kevin."

"The what?" He asked, confused.

Edd laughed quietly. "I would also like to be in a relationship, assuming that that is what you were trying to initiate by kissing me."

Kevin raised his eyebrows in surprise and moved them back down, nodding slowly as his eyes guided down to his shoes. "Uh, yeah, that is. If you want to."

Double D tilted his head. "Did I not just voice that I did?"

The jock bit the inside of his cheek. Damn, he was making himself look like a fool.

But then Edward softly laughed again, which caught his attention, causing him to stare at the boy once more.

"And here I was thinking I would be the shy one," he teased, giving the taller a genuine smile.

Kevin shrugged. "This whole thing is new for me, that's all."

Edd quirked an eyebrow. "Liking boys is what you mean, I presume?"

A nod in response.

Edd mouthed an oh. "Well, that's okay. If you need to take your time you're more than welcome! I'm in no rush."

Kevin was at a loss for words. How did he answer that? Well, it was simple; he didn't. He settled for a simple nod instead.

Feeling the embarrassment radiate off of Kevin, Edd started to experience it himself. He smiled once more.

"Well, I've quite a bit of studying ahead of me! I will see you tomorrow at school and we can talk more later if you'd like. Goodnight, Kevin," he stated calmly, despite his head beginning to spin again from reliving the kiss.

After unlocking his door and opening it, with a little bit of hesitation, he pressed his lips against Kevin's cheek, swiftly turning around and closing the door behind him. In a second, he made sure it was locked, before sliding down it, clutching his book bag.

It seemed that the jock barely had any time to respond, all of it happening within the blink of an eye. However, the heat that radiated on his cheeks (which was more than his cheek turning red!) let him know enough of what was going on.

Yeah, maybe he was a little gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Hi. Umm.. it's been over 2 years since this fic was updated. I'm really sorry. I don't really know what else to say? This chapter took me over a year to write, and yes, I swear I have excuses as to why.
> 
> Last year when I posted the update stating how I was going to write the chapter, I seriously was. However, for the past year it's kind of been tragedy after tragedy?
> 
> My best friend passed away, my cousin was in the hospital because of an overdose, my mom almost had a stroke (high blood pressure; she's on medication now), my father had a seizure, my uncle passed away, my aunt went into the hospital after she fell and is now in the hospital again because she had a stroke and needed to go to rehab and such. Also I work almost 7 days a week most weeks at 2 different jobs and I'm a full-time student. It's.. a lot. In the past year, it's a lot.
> 
> Every time I've tried to open up the document there was always something in the way. Or I just can't be bothered to feel motivated because I'm going through a lot. I don't know. It's been a crappy, crappy year for me.
> 
> But! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I know it's been a while and I missed writing it! However I think I've seriously lost my touch lmao. I haven't been writing on my fanfiction tumblr this whole time either so I've reeeally been missing out.
> 
> I've also been contemplating rewriting this whole story a bit? Some of the chapters are blech and I feel like they could use some tuning. Nothing too serious, but a constant storyline is certainly in need (would probs help if I updated regularly and remembered what I wrote).
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Reviews?
> 
> Thanks guys~


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